By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Kansas City Chiefs completed their seventh practice of training camp on Sunday at Missouri Western in St. Joseph.
It was the third workout in full pads and it was the longest practice of camp thus far, stretching nearly 2.5 hours.
Head coach Andy Reid says it was a productive day.
"Guys pounded through it," he said. "They did a nice job of competing and finishing strong. Back and forth, which is good. Offense, defense, special teams got good work in today."
"This is kind of the meat of the camp here. We have 6-7 two hour and 25-minute practices, so guys have to push through that."
Reid confirmed Sunday that corner Nazeeh Johnson tore his ACL toward the end of practice Saturday, while linebacker Isaiah Moore will have knee surgery, likely ending both of their seasons and putting them on injured reserve.
Johnson, Reid says, is a particularly disappointing loss, given how strong he had been looking this camp.
"He's a good special teams player and a good corner," Reid said of Nazeeh. "He's really developed over the years. It's too bad that it happened. He's had a good attitude about it, and he'll get back when he'll get back."
"(Johnson) is easily one of the closest guys to me in the locker room," fellow corner Joshua Williams said. "It hurt to see that."
Corner L’Jarius Sneed (knee) and linebacker Drue Tranquill (neck) were back to work on Sunday after missing time Saturday.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was absent for a second straight day due to illness. Jody Forston (shoulder), Mike Danna (calf), Turk Wharton (ACL) and Kadarius Toney (knee) remain sidelined. Chris Jones has not yet reported. Reid noted that Toney is "making progress."
New players
The Chiefs announced Sunday the addition of two new players to the roster - tight end Izaiah Gathings from Middle Tennessee State and corner Anthony Withersone from Merrimack College.
With Moore and Johnson on IR, Gathings and Witherstone fill those empty roster spots. Both were seen at practice Sunday.
Things (still) getting a little chippy
This training camp seems to be a bit more chippy than in recent years.
On Sunday, corner Jaylen Watson and receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette were seen getting into a shoving after a play. Watson's helmet even came off during the exchange.
Travis Kelce was seen swinging for Jack Cochrane on Saturday in a fan video clip that went viral. While Kelce later atoned for his actions on Twitter, Andy Reid doesn’t see these things as a major issue.
"I'm okay with chippy," he said. "It's alright. You have to have an edge and then you've got to maintain that. It's all well and good when it's practice one or two, but you have to keep challenging each other as it goes through."
Several Sunday standouts
Sunday's practice featured a lot of 11-on-11 team drills, and it seems like the offense, at times, had their way with the defense. Deneric Prince, who's already made waves this camp, got the majority of first-team reps at running back, and he looked the part.
Prince, an undrafted free agent rookie out of Tulsa, caught everything thrown his way and he had some nice runs on counter plays.
"He's doing a nice job," Reid said of Prince. "He's working hard and doing a nice job. Without (Edwards-Helaire) here today and yesterday, he got some good work."
Justyn Ross likely had his best day of camp so far on Sunday, with several nice catches in the first-team offense. Tight end Matt Bushman has been getting more reps with Jody Forston sidelined, and he's looked very strong so far, catching everything that comes his way.
Tight end Noah Gray also continues to have a great camp, getting an increased number of reps with the first-team offense. He seems to be just a bit faster and stronger this season than in his first two years in Kansas City.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling had his best day of camp Sunday, with some highlight reel-worthy catches. Defensively, it was a pretty solid day for the linebackers, particularly Nick Bolton, Willie Gay and Jack Cochrane.
The defense also held its own against the first-team offense during red zone, coming up with PBUs and forcing consecutive incompletions.
Offensive line coming together
One of the most important additions to the Chiefs roster this offseason was left tackle Donovan Smith - a veteran entering his ninth NFL season.
Smith spent his first eight seasons in Tampa Bay before signing with the Chiefs in May. He takes the spot on the starting O-line left open by the departure of Orlando Brown Jr., who signed a four-year deal with Cincinnati in March.
With the return of starters Trey Smith, Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney, Smith thinks this position group can be one of the Chiefs' biggest strengths.
"The many things we bring to the table, I would say is our strength," Smith said. "To be able to run and pass the ball, that's big. We have big, athletic, mobile guys, which go a long way."
Justin Watson settling in
Watson enjoyed a pretty solid first season with Kansas City in 2022, finishing with 315 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was a free agent in the offseason, and re-signed in April.
With Juju Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman leaving, that has opened the door for guys like Watson and Valdes-Scantling to become bigger leaders in the receiver room.
"MVS and myself are kind of the only vets we've had playing in this system," Watson said. "It's just becoming a leader this year. We have a bunch of young guys who are just chomping at the bit and really pushing everybody. So, it's been a good mix of older guys and young guys so far in camp."
Watson says second-year receiver Skyy Moore has taken a "huge step" forward compared to this time a year ago. Watson also revealed that he and Blaine Gabbert worked out together frequently in the offseason.
Watson and Gabbert were teammates in Tampa Bay from 2019-2021 and became close friends. Once Watson re-signed with the Chiefs, he said he "put the full court press" on Gabbert to sign with Kansas City.
Gabbert did just that in April.
What's next
The Chiefs are back to work on Monday at 9:15 a.m. before an off-day on Tuesday.
Caught on tape
Pictures
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