Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill returns to practice for first time since late December
The Chiefs returned to the practice field Wednesday in full pads after a day off ... and they brought along a familiar face.
Free safety Juan Thornhill, who started training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, was on the field in full pads for the first time since December.
Thornhill’s presence means he has been cleared by the medical staff and is no longer on the PUP list. But the Chiefs are utilizing a cautious approach with the second-year pro by limiting him to stretching and conditioning, followed by individual position drills.
“It’s good to have Thornhill back,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He was limited today, but he’ll keep ramping up. (We) made sure he had a couple of good workouts prior to activating him, so we think that’s a plus.”
Wednesday’s practice marked the first time Thornhill had been in full pads since he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear during the Chiefs’ 2019 regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Before the injury, Thornhill enjoyed a breakout rookie season with 16 starts and paired with All-Pro strong safety Tyrann Mathieu to anchor the back end of the Chiefs’ coverage. Thornhill proved extremely reliable and played 1,011 defensive snaps, third-most on the team behind Mathieu and cornerback Charvarius Ward, and finished the season with 57 tackles, three interceptions and five passes defensed.
He underwent surgery shortly after the injury, missing the Chiefs’ postseason run to a Super Bowl win, and then spent the past eight months rehabilitating his knee. When the Chiefs’ first practice in pads began last week, he continued to work off to the side with a trainer.
The effort to return paid off, and his teammates were excited to see him on the field.
“It was definitely good to see Juan back out there,” linebacker Anthony Hitchens said. “You could see him smiling from ear to ear. He could finally be around us and stuff like that.
“Kudos to him for putting in all the work in getting back here not even a full year from the injury. Good for our training staff and Juan putting in all the work. While everyone else had an offseason, he was still grinding.”
The Chiefs shouldn’t feel a need to rush Thornhill back, even with less than a month remaining before the start of the regular season. The team has depth at the safety position in Armani Watts and last month’s signing of Tedric Thompson, who had periodically filled in at Thornhill’s spot during team drills.
With capable bodies on the roster, Reid plans to gradually work in Thornhill before allowing him to go full speed.
“We’re just going to gradually ramp him up,” Reid said.
PARTICIPATION REPORT
Defensive end Frank Clark, who dealt with a stomach virus on the first day of padded practice last week, was not on the field Wednesday. Reid said Clark, who participated in the previous three workouts, continues to deal with the illness.
“It’s a virus that he’s trying to shake here, so we’re working with him on that,” Reid said.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin) missed a fourth straight day of work, while wide receivers Sammy Watkins (groin) and Byron Pringle (hamstring) didn’t practice for the third consecutive session.
Left tackle Eric Fisher remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol after being injured during Sunday’s practice. Offensive lineman Martinas Rankin (knee) remains on the PUP list and worked off to the side with the training staff alongside cornerback Lavert Hill (hamstring) and tight ends Deon Yelder (groin) and Ricky Seals-Jones (leg).
Linebacker Darius Harris, who was excused for personal reasons during the previous four practice sessions, returned to practice. And new tight end Daniel Helm, whom the Chiefs claimed off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers, made his appearance of training camp, wearing jersey No. 43.
KEMP RETURNS
Thornhill wasn’t the only familiar face to get back on the practice field Wednesday.
The Chiefs brought back wide receiver Marcus Kemp, who originally joined the team in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of Hawaii and spent time on the practice squad in past seasons. Kemp suffered a knee injury during training camp in 2019 and spent the season on injured reserve.
Reid liked what he saw from Kemp Wednesday.
“I’m so glad that he’s back now because he was playing the best football that he’d ever played since we had him here when he got hurt,” Reid said. “It was a shame that that happened and now he’s getting a chance to come back. It looks like he’s worked his tail off. We worked him out yesterday and he did a great job with it. He needs to get himself into football shape as he goes, but he took some reps today and did a nice job with it.”
To make room on the roster for Kemp and the addition of Helm, the Chiefs waived undrafted rookie wide receivers Aleva Hifo and Andre Baccellia.
OBSERVATIONS
The NFL’s and Chiefs’ media rules during training camp without fans in attendance — fans cannot attend this year because of the pandemic until the two Chiefs’ season-ticket holder special events — 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:
• Rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire produced the play of the day with a nice juke on linebacker Anthony Hitchens during team drills. Edwards-Helaire caught a pass in the flat with Hitchens bearing down, but the first-round pick stuck his left foot in the ground and gave a little shoulder shake. Hitchens’ momentum carried him forward and Edwards-Helaire turned upfield untouched for what would’ve been a big gain in live action.
• Linebacker Ben Niemann quietly continues to have a strong training camp. He’s punctuated his performances so far with a pick-six off quarterback Patrick Mahomes during team drills. Given Niemann’s experience in the Chiefs’ scheme, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he has the inside track to open the season as a starter alongside Hitchens and Damien Wilson. Such a move would allow the Chiefs to slowly bring in Willie Gay Jr., the team’s second-round pick — that would be beneficial because the rookie didn’t get the customary break-in period usually afforded first-year players through offseason workouts.
• Strong safety Tyrann Mathieu produced a jaw-dropping interception off Mahomes during a team drill. Mahomes threw the ball deep down the middle to a streaking Tyreek Hill, but Mathieu made it back in time to secure an over-the-shoulder catch at full-speed.
• Cornerback Bashaud Breeland made his presence felt with two big hits. The first came on running back Darrel Williams during team drills, prompting numerous members of the defense to let out a Ric Flair-like “Wooo!” following the play. Breeland later leveled wide receiver Demarcus Robinson near the line of scrimmage. Robinson, though, later got some revenge by beating Breeland deep down the right sideline for a touchdown.
• Quarterback Matt Moore, who returned on a one-year deal during the summer, received his first significant snaps of the padded portion of camp. While Moore started two games last year in place of an injured Mahomes, Reid said over the weekend that Chad Henne was the team’s No. 2 quarterback.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 4:06 PM.
