‘Good to get the guys back into pads,’ Chiefs’ Reid says of Friday’s first practice
No more simply talking about training camp and padded practices.
On Friday, those discussions became reality when the Chiefs took the field at their training facility for the first of 14 camp sessions in full pads before their Sept. 10 season opener against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium.
“Good to get the guys back into pads and going,” coach Andy Reid said afterward. “It’s been a bit of time, but we’ve had a great ramp-up period with them.”
The Chiefs, like other teams around the NFL, are getting a late start to training camp because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of starting in late July as originally scheduled, the Chiefs reported and went through a COVID-19 testing phase followed by eight days of strength and conditioning. Players then went through some walk-through drills without pads leading into Friday.
This year certainly provides a unique feel to training camp, especially in terms of safety measures.
Reid wore a face shield and numerous team staffers wore facemasks on the sidelines as players went through practice. Members of the media were more than adequately spaced out with social-distancing protocols in mind.
While the environment was certainly different from the norm, doubts about football’s ability to return disappeared with the first sight of pads smacking as players made contact at or near the line of scrimmage during team-related drills.
The Chiefs weren’t tackling to the ground but players were still excited to get back to action.
“The pads today was fun,” tight end Travis Kelce said. “It was good to get out there and hit somebody and try to get some fundamentals back down.”
With less than a month to go, the Chiefs have a lot of ground to make up. Rookie minicamp, “organized team activities” and a mandatory minicamp are usually held during the offseason, but none of those things took place this year because of the coronavirus.
Install periods that should have occurred months ago are now in place, and the Chiefs will go through another ramp-up period during which the intensity of camp will rise with longer on-field sessions.
The Chiefs will continue to acclimate their bodies and minds to the rigors of football under the watchful eye of Reid, who came away pleased with what he saw Friday.
“These guys have worked extremely hard,” he said. “They came out today and worked extremely hard with the pads on with some heat out there. I’m proud of them for that. Their attitude, obviously, is important, and they’ve got a good one right now.”
PARTICIPATION REPORT
Defensive end Frank Clark (illness), defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, tight end Deon Yelder (groin), defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence (personal reasons) and linebacker Darius Harris (personal reasons) were not dressed for practice Friday.
Reid said Clark’s illness is not related to COVID-19.
Free safety Juan Thornhill (knee) and offensive lineman Martinas Rankin (knee) remain on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. The two players could be seen working off to the side with trainers.
Reid said rookie cornerback BoPete Keyes, who is currently on the non-football injury (NFI) list, is dealing with an orbital fracture suffered before his arrival. The Chiefs selected Keyes in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
RUNNING WITH THE ONES
The Chiefs aren’t waiting too long to work in rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The 32nd overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft ran with the starters Friday.
“He’s been doing a lot of work with the first group, and so that’s valuable work for him,” Reid said. “Is everything perfect? No, not right now, but he’s working like crazy to get in there and he’s got a good attitude about it.”
For the most part, Edwards-Helaire looked strong on the field, producing a nice run up the middle during team-related drills. The Chiefs’ defense wasn’t tackling to the ground, but the rookie rusher provided a glimpse of his explosiveness.
The Chiefs will need their first-round pick to step up sooner than later because Damien Williams, last year’s starter, elected to opt out of the 2020 regular season because of COVID-19 concerns.
The time is now for Edwards-Helaire and fellow Chiefs running backs Darrel Williams, Darwin Thompson, DeAndre Washington and Elijah McGuire to showcase their skills.
Edwards-Helaire will likely get the first and longest look at the position given his lofty draft status and offseason workouts with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
OBSERVATIONS
The NFL’s and Chiefs’ media rules during training camp without fans in attendance — fans cannot attend this year because of the pandemic — prohibit the reporting of personnel groupings (first- or second- or third-team units), specific formations/alignments, trick plays, situational plays and statistics.
Still allowed, however, are general observations about head-turning and notable plays, such as:
• Mahomes throwing the football and not disappointing. During team-related drills, the superstar quarterback scrambled to his left and unleashed a sidearm throw across his body to the left sideline. At first glimpse, it appeared as if he was throwing the ball away ... that is, until running back Elijah McGuire made his way across the field for a diving grab before going out of bounds. Mahomes later made another nice throw in dropping a perfect pass between cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Daniel Sorensen into the waiting arms of wide receiver Demarcus Robinson.
• Second-year wide receiver Jody Fortson, who spent time on the Chiefs’ practice squad in 2019, also had a good morning with two highlight-worthy grabs. Fortson’s most impressive catch arrived on a deep throw from Chad Henne, who connected with Fortson on what would’ve either been a big gain or a touchdown, had the setting been an actual game. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Fortson, a “deep sleeper” for training camp this summer, didn’t disappoint. It’s early, but a consistent showing from Fortson during camp will go a long way toward determining his roster status for this fall.
• Wide receiver Tyreek Hill got behind the defense during team drills and appeared well on his way to catching a touchdown pass from Mahomes. But safety Daniel Sorensen had something to say about that. He came across the field in time to make a leaping jab at the football and knock away the pass.
• Second-year wide receiver Byron Pringle secured a nice touchdown catch from Henne by beating rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed down the left sideline during team drills. Henne led Pringle into the end zone, where the former K-State star made a diving grab.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 3:50 PM.
