Kansas City Chiefs’ camp is over. Here’s a look at their final session, and what’s next
The Chiefs officially wrapped up training camp Wednesday at Missouri Western State University. Their light morning practice lasted a little more than an hour.
Players practiced without pads. Coach Andy Reid typically ends training camp with a less stressful “10-10-10” practice: Wearing shells, players cycle through 10 plays of offense, 10 plays on defense and 10 minutes of special teams drills.
And with 19 practices, including three days that featured just the quarterbacks, rookies and select other players, now in the books, Reid seemed pleased with his team’s overall effort.
“I mentioned to them last night — and I mentioned it to them again here (after practice) — just a job a well-done for what we needed to get done here,” Reid said. “We’ve got to keep going. I mean, it’s not done here, but we’ve got to keep rolling.”
The Chiefs are focused on building momentum before playing host to the Cleveland Browns in their regular-season opener Sept. 12 at Arrowhead Stadium.
There are two more preseason games to play first, however, including a road matchup Friday night against the Arizona Cardinals and a home game against the Minnesota Vikings on Aug. 27.
Reid will approach those exhibition game differently than last weekend’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, in which the starters played very limited snaps.
Reid said the Chiefs’ starters will play “either a half, somewhere thereabout,” before giving way to their primary backups — likely meaning quarterback Patrick Mahomes will see more than the four snaps he had against San Francisco.
Preseason games are an extension of the Chiefs’ evaluation process as team officials work toward determining their 53-player roster for the regular season. Training camp was another key tool in that effort, allowing the coaching staff to become more familiar with the players and vice versa.
“I think it was great for us to build that chemistry amongst the locker room and also on the field,” Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones said. “When you have to spend 17 or 18 days together, you find out a lot about each other.”
“Their effort, their attitude and everything was good,” Reid said. “I appreciated that, as did the coaches.”
The end of camp also means a return to the comforts of home after living in dorms for several weeks.
“I think St. Joe has been amazing to us, but I think it’s about time for my own house,” Jones said. “I love the dorms — amazing program that they’re running here. The faculty staff and cafeteria has been amazing, the people around the facility has been amazing.
“I appreciate Missouri Western for giving us the opportunity to come back. It’s been what, two or three years since we had the opportunity to come back, but I think it’s about time for us to get back to KC.”
PARTICIPATION REPORT
Offensive lineman Kyle Long (knee) and defensive end Frank Clark (hamstring) were not on the field for Wednesday’s final session in St. Joe.
Right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (hand) worked off to the side with an athletic trainer at the rehabilitation area.
Defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (hip flexor) participated in stretching and conditioning and individual position drills before departing the practice field. Nnadi had done so for the past few practices since suffering his hip injury.
Defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who left Monday’s practice with cramps, and defensive end Demone Harris (oblique) were able to practice Wednesday.
LONG HAS SURGERY
Reid revealed that Long, who suffered a knee injury during organized team activities in early June, had previously undergone “major surgery.”
“He’s doing well, too,” Reid said. “He’s moving around, he’s jogging a little bit, and that’s a good thing.”
The Chiefs placed Long on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list before the start of training camp. The veteran offensive lineman, signed this offseason, had worked with other injured players during practices at camp.
Long was expected to compete for a starting job at right guard, but his injury, combined with Duvernay-Tardif’s, opened the door for rookie Trey Smith, who is on his way to opening the season with the first team O-line.
OBSERVATIONS
- The Chiefs fielded this first-team offensive line for the final 10 practices of camp: left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., left guard Joe Thuney, rookie center Creed Humphrey, rookie right guard Trey Smith and rookie right tackle Lucas Niang.
- On defense, the Chiefs had Anthony Hitchens, Ben Niemann and Willie Gay Jr. with the starters in their 4-3 base. Rookie Nick Bolton rotated.
- With Clark missing practice Wednesday, second-year pro Mike Danna lined up at right defensive end. Danna has enjoyed a strong training camp and is primed to be a large part of the team’s pass-rush rotation.
- The Chiefs entertained the crowd, which included members of the armed forces as part of the team’s annual Military Appreciation Day, with a few trick plays on special teams. As noted on the Chiefs’ official website, punter Tommy Townsend twice took snaps as the holder for field-goal attempts and threw touchdown passes to offensive linemen Humphrey and Nick Allegretti.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 1:43 PM.
