By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The first full day of Chiefs training camp is in the books.
The whole team was on hand for the first full day of camp Wednesday morning. The Chiefs practiced in helmets and shorts at the Mosaic Training Fields for about two hours on a very warm day.
Heat indices were touching the mid 90s by the end of practice. Head coach Andy Reid says the training staff has done a great job making sure that players are staying safe in the heat.
"Our trainers do a great job making sure guys are hydrated," Reid said. "They test them prior and give them water breaks during practice. And once guys get to an x-number of plays, the trainers run in and give them a little water."
The heat did not stop around 3,000-4,000 Chiefs season ticket holders from taking in the practice. Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt says it just feels right to be back at Missouri Western for the camp with the fans on hand.
"It's so great to have our fans back at training camp," Hunt said. "I can think back to my experience as a kid coming to training camp with my dad and how special that is. It was great to see so many of our season-ticket holders here today."
A handful of players were held out of practice. Long snapper James Winchester and running back Darwin Thompson are in COVID protocol.
Right guard Kyle Long is out with a knee injury. Coach Reid says he likely won’t practice again until after camp is over.
Linebacker Anthony Hitchens also tweaked his hamstring at Wednesday's practice. Others who were held out include safety Armani Watts (foot) and defensive end Malik Herring (knee).
One linemen who’s stepped up in Long’s absence is rookie Trey Smith out of Tennessee, who played the right guard spot to start camp. Reid says Smith has been very consistent so far.
"He showed enough to legitimately be in that position right now," Reid said. "He's got to compete. So, we'll see how all of that goes once we get the pads on."
Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Orlando Brown Jr. and Mike Remmers joined Smith along the offensive line during first-team reps.
Other standouts
Linebacker Willie Gay, who's coming off of a torn meniscus this past winter, was one of the defensive standouts Wednesday, knocking down a couple of passes during both seven-on-seven and the 11-on-11 drills.
Chris Jones was switching between defensive tackle and defensive end throughout the morning Wednesday.
Receivers Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman each hauled in some deep passes from Patrick Mahomes. Tyreek Hill had his moments, too. All-in-all, Patrick looked like Patrick. The turf toe injury is definitely in the rearview.
"You know, we're loaded," safety Tyrann Mathieu said of the offense. "It requires all of us on the back end to really put the work in. We're going against one of the best offenses in the league, and so every day we work with each other is only going to make us better."
The Chiefs practice again Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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