By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Kansas City Chiefs were back on the Mosaic Training Fields at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph Wednesday for the ninth training camp practice and the fourth one in full pads.
The team worked for just over 90 minutes on a cloudy, mild and breezy morning. There were off-and-on sprinkles, but the heaviest rain fell both before camp started and after it ended Wednesday.
Head coach Andy Reid thought it was solid work after a day off on Tuesday.
"I thought the guys practiced hard and they challenged each other," Reid said. "It's always tough coming from a day off, but the tempo was great. They caught a break with the weather, it's nice and cool out here, but I was impressed with how they challenged each other."
Corner L’Jarius Sneed was held out Wednesday with knee inflammation. Punter Tommy Townsend was somewhat limited with an ankle sprain he suffered on Monday.
Defensive tackle Turk Wharton was back to work after being on the PUP list to start camp, though he hasn't been fully involved quite yet.
Receiver Kadarius Toney (knee), Mike Danna (calf) and Jody Fortson (shoulder) are still out. Receiver Ty Scott, who was just signed by the Chiefs on July 28, was absent for a second straight practice.
Linebacker Isaiah Moore and corner Nazeeh Johnson are on injured reserve. Defensive tackle Chris Jones has yet to report. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked Wednesday if he's been in contact with Jones.
The answer is yes, but they haven't discussed the contract negotiation.
"Just talk about football and how he's doing," Mahomes said of Jones. "He's working out and staying in shape. (The contract extension) will handle itself. All I can do is be supportive and be a teammate. That's one of the guys who's been a staple in this organization for a long time. Hopefully, we get him back as soon as possible."
Justyn Ross making the case
Receiver Justyn Ross sustained a series of tough injuries while he was at Clemson. He missed the 2020 season after he had surgery to repair congenital fusion in his spine.
He suffered a rib bruise in 2019 and then a concussion and stress fracture in his foot in 2021. That stress fracture ended his college career on Nov. 13 of that year, and it arguably kept him from being drafted after he was being hyped as first-round material in 2018.
The Chiefs picked Ross up as an undrafted free agent last year, but he had to sit out all of 2022 after foot surgery to repair that stress fracture.
Ross has made a name for himself again this training camp with several highlight reel catches, as he's gotten solid reps with the first-team offense.
Ross says the approach this camp has very much been day-by-day.
"Take advantage of the opportunity," he said. "You never know what the future will bring, but right now, I'm just taking it day-by-day. Step-by-step."
Mahomes and Reid have both noticed Ross’ talent and work ethic.
"Obviously making big plays," Mahomes noted. "He's getting more and more involved in those first-team reps. A guy that I have a lot hope for that can be a really good player in this offense."
"He's done a nice job," Reid said of Ross. "He's had a nice offseason and he's worked his tail off here. He just needs to keep doing that. It's how you answer the bell every day and push through it. He has the right mind set to do that."
Playing with an edge
The intensity of this Chiefs training camp has already made headlines, especially the clip of Travis Kelce taking a swing at linebacker Jack Cochrane.
There’s been a handful of other scuffles this camp - perhaps more than a typical year. Reid has said already that he doesn’t mind it too much. In fact, he likes when players have, what he defines, as an edge.
"Challenge each other. If you can do that, every time I line up, I'm going to do my best against that guy. That's the edge."
Mahomes has enjoyed the passion on the field and the respect players show each other off of it.
"Trav punching a guy isn't necessarily the way you want to do it," he grinned, "but you love the fire. You love the fire on both sides of the ball and trying to finish until the last second. That's the kind of guys we are. We're going to compete, argue on the football field and love each other in the locker room. We have a lot of dudes who are super competitive on this team."
Standouts from Wednesday
Jerick McKinnon had a productive day Wednesday, making a number of good catches and runs out of the backfield. Trent McDuffie picked off a pass from Mahomes intended for Marquez Valdes-Scantling during team drills. It's been a solid camp for McDuffie overall with clear growth since his rookie season last year.
Rookie corner Nic Jones, a seventh-round draft pick out of Ball State, has had a pretty strong camp himself. He came up with a couple of pass breakups Wednesday.
Joshua Kaindoh and Malik Herring were getting their first real looks with the first-team defense Wednesday, as they anchored the defensive end spots.
Tight end Kendall Blanton, a Mizzou alum and Blue Springs native, had his number called a couple of times with the second-team offense and he made some nice snags.
Reid offers condolences to Jessica Tangen's family
Mosaic Life Care announced the tragic news of Jessica Tangen's death during Chiefs camp on Sunday. Tangen, a lifelong Chiefs fan from Riverside, Missouri, was 43.
Coach Reid began his press conference Wednesday by expressing his condolences to Tangen's family.
"Our hearts go out to them for the death of a Mom there and to the kids. It's a terrible thing that happened. We've obviously reached out to them and it'll stay that way."
No cause of death has been given.
Mosaic's caregivers and emergency department caregivers responded. Coach Reid was sure to credit the hospital's staff for their response.
"Mosaic, for the job that they did, their staff, of helping as best they could," Reid said. "Terrible thing, but our blessings go to their family."
What's next
The Chiefs are back at practice on Thursday morning at 9:15.
Caught on tape
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.