Chiefs’ Phillip Gaines is eager to have the first crack at replacing Sean Smith

When organized-team activities came to a close in late June, Chiefs coach Andy Reid made an interesting announcement: cornerback Phillip Gaines would open training camp as the starting corner opposite Marcus Peters.

In his two years in the league, Gaines has played more than every corner on the roster except corner/safety hybrids Jamell Fleming and Marcus Cooper, so in that way, it made sense. But at the time of the announcement, Gaines still hadn’t practiced fully since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last September, so it’s hard not to take Reid’s proclamation as an indication of how much the Chiefs think of their 2014 third-round pick.

That fact is not lost on Gaines, a 6-foot-1 corner who on Wednesday took his first real steps toward re-establishing himself by participating fully during a training camp practice for rookies and certain veterans.

“There’s definitely some dust to knock off, but you know it feels good to be able to come out here, run around with everybody,” Gaines said.

And from Reid’s point of point, Gaines — who recorded six tackles before his injury a year ago — looked good.

“You know what? I thought he moved around great,” Reid said. “Took a lot of reps. Looks like he’s put on a little weight and strength. I was happy with what I saw.”

Gaines said he now weighs 188 pounds, up from 181 a year ago.

“It’s just a combination of me getting my lower body right,” said Gaines, who had 20 tackles and four pass deflections as a rookie in 2014. “You know coming off an ACL you can’t really work your legs, just the upper body, but when you do get a chance to work the lower body, (you) kind of fill back out.”

Reid was also happy to see Gaines finally compete in one-on-one coverage again, pointing out that he had some interesting battles Wednesday with veteran receiver Mike Williams, who is trying to make a comeback of his own.

“He competed,” Reid said of Gaines. “He and Williams were going back and forth. That’s a good guy to do it against because he’s got a lot of snaps under his belt.”

Williams, a six-year veteran, said Gaines impressed him.

“He’s good, he’s real good man,” Williams said. “He was in the training room a lot … so I’ve kinda been wanting to see him. But now that I see him, I see why he’s here.”

Most importantly, Gaines — who almost had an interception Wednesday — said after practice that the pain in the knee “is pretty much gone,” and that there’s been minimal swelling.

“I mean, Dr. (James) Andrews is one of the best surgeons in the world,” Gaines said. “He’s world-renowned and everybody knows him, so if he says my knee’s good, then I have all the confidence in the world in him.”

That confidence, Gaines said, has allowed him to regain full confidence in the knee as he continues his bid to lock down a job he’ll have the first crack at once veterans arrive Friday.

“You know I’m not scared — football is football,” Gaines said of a possible re-injury. “It’s either going to happen or it’s not going to happen, but you can’t be scared out there.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ Phillip Gaines is eager to have the first crack at replacing Sean Smith."