By MATT PIKE
Preseason football is on Saturday for the Kansas CIty Chiefs who wrapped up the second to last week of practice today with a short 10-10-10 practice.
Practicing for just around an hour and a half in shorts and shells, players were eager to get out of St. Joseph for the week, and play an actual game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams.
Head Coach Andy Reid says they are looking forward to competing against an actual team
It should be a good, good test for our young guys to get out there and have an opportunity to play," Reid told reporters after practice. "So, the way the rotation will go is Pat (Mahomes) won’t start or play, and then it’ll be Justin (Fields), and then (Garrett) Nussmeier, and then Chris (Oladokun) will take it from there. So, we’ll just see how the reps go as we work through them.”
Reid was also not committed to how much fans would see his starters on the field in the opener, and how many others would be rested along with Mahomes. If it was up to defensive tackle Chris Jones, he says he hopes no starters play
"There's so much risk you're taking to play the starters in presason, I hope Coach Reid be like starters don't play," Jones explains. "But also, it's getting reps, repetetion we've been playing against each other, it's good to get repetition but I don't want to play the preseason, I'd rather not play, but if I do have to play I'm going to buckle up."
The dog days of Chiefs Training camp are here as players are growing restless and are ready to face someone other than their own teammates. Jones says its these days of adversity that help build the character this team is looking for
"I have always been a big believer of that. With the heat, back-to-back days, and pads on. You know we are kind of tired of hitting each other. These are the days to battle through it. Later on, when you’re during the season, week 12 and 13, when your body starts talking to you it’s mind over matter," Jones says. "I think that’s what we are building right now. We have a bunch of young guys, a lot of guys out of college, so, to hit that wall and continue to push is what we are building right now.”
The Chiefs get their chance to hit someone else on Saturday, opening the preseason against the Los Angeles Rams. Kickoff is at 3pm, pregame will be at 2pm on KFEQ and Q Country 92.7
The final week of practices at Missouri Western State University begins Monday at 9:15am
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.