By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Kansas City Chiefs battled the elements to start their 11th training camp practice Friday in St. Joseph.
Storms forced the start of practice inside the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex on the Missouri Western campus, but the team was back outside by about 9:30.
Light rain persisted a little past 10, but the team worked in full pads for about two hours.
Head coach Andy Reid says red zone drills were a big emphasis in Friday’s practice.
"The guys kept the intensity level up and I thought they did a nice job of competing," Reid said. "Defense was creating these small windows down (in the red zone), which we appreciate. It's good work for the offense."
Linebacker Drue Tranquill was back on the field Friday after missing Thursday's workout. Corner Jaylen Watson had an excused absence and didn’t practice Friday.
There were no new injuries. Kadarius Toney (knee), L'Jarius Sneed (knee), Reese Taylor (ACL), Mike Danna (calf), Jody Forston (shoulder) and Charles Omenihu (calf) didn't practice. Chris Jones has not yet reported. With only eight camp practices left, it looks unlikely that we'll see him in St. Joseph at all as contract negotiations continue.
Omenihu will be sidelined for even longer once he is back healthy. He's been suspended for the first six games of the season for violations of the personal conduct policy. He's still eligible to participate in preseason practices and games.
Notes and observations
As mentioned above, a lot of the team drills Friday focused on red zone plays, especially inside the 10-yard line.
With Sneed and Taylor sidelined, and with Watson absent, that opened the door for rookies Nic Jones and Ekow Boye-Doe to get much of the first-team snaps at cornerback.
Reid was asked about Boye-Doe at the end of practice. Boye-Doe had some great coverages and a couple of pass breakups throughout the day.
"He's been getting better every day," Reid said of Boye-Doe, a Kansas State alum and Lawrence native who was signed as an undrafted free agent. "I told him he has to eat a little bit. He's kind of thin, but he's a heck of a competitor and has good skill."
Boye-Doe stands six feet tall and weighs in at 177 pounds.
Also getting first-team reps on defense is another K-State alum - first-round draft pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah. He saw a healthy number of reps at defensive end. He also was seen blowing past offensive tackle Donovan Smith during a blocking drill.
The rain made for slippery field conditions Friday, as there were a few dropped passes. Defensive backs all around had a pretty solid day, breaking up short passes during red zone. Justin Reid snagged a pick in the end zone on a pass intended for Travis Kelce.
Coach Reid contends that rain is a good thing. St. Joseph and the surrounding area has seen plenty of it this past week.
"We'll come out (in the rain) and that'll pay off for you down the road," he said. "Footing, grasping and catching the ball. All of those things. Both sides of the ball and special teams. We've had a little rain. It's good for the farmers."
The offense had its moments, too Friday. In particular, Patrick Mahomes, who completed 15 passes in a row in the final stretch of team drills.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas were among those in attendance at camp. It was a sold out crowd with upwards of 8,000 fans expected.
The morning rain led to a late arriving crowd, but the lines were long and the berms filled in quite a bit by the end.
Clyde finding his role
Some of the bigger offseason news for the Chiefs came in May when the team declined Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s fifth-year option on his contract.
Clyde is in his fourth and final year of his rookie deal signed back when he was a first-round pick in 2020.
Edwards-Helaire was the starter to begin last year, but rookie Isiah Pacheco and veteran Jerick McKinnon started getting a bigger snap load at running back late last season. You also have rookie Deneric Prince making a strong impression at that position during this camp.
Entering a critical year, Edwards-Helaire says his approach doesn’t drastically change.
"Like it's been every year, whenever my number is called, I'll be there to do my job and do what I need to do as far as being on the field as a running back," he said. "Never really been a question on what's going on. It's...whenever my number is called, I just go."
Clyde finished with 453 all-purpose yards and six all-purpose touchdowns last season. Two questions remain - what will the Chiefs do with Edwards-Helaire at the end of the season, and will they keep four running backs on their 53-man roster?
The quest to repeat
The Chiefs had the chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions in 2021, but lost to Tampa Bay, 31-9, in Super Bowl 55.
Now in training camp once more as the defending champions, the Chiefs look to become the first team since the Patriots in 2003 and 2004 to repeat as world champions.
Offensive guard Joe Thuney won Super Bowls in New England in 2017 and 2019 before coming to the Chiefs in 2021.
He says the quest to repeat is challenging, but it’s one the team feels ready to take on.
"People are aware we won it last year," Thuney said. "I'm sure everyone is excited to play us, and we're excited to play them, too. It's just about taking it a day at a time. Keep working, keep improving and keep trying to get better."
There have been just eight NFL teams in history to win the Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons. The Steelers are the only ones to have done it twice.
What's next
The Chiefs practice again on Saturday morning at 9:15 before an off-day Sunday. Saturday is Family Fun Day at camp, and there'll be a $5 admission fee.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.