By MATT PIKE
It was a lighter day at practice for the Kansas City Chiefs after three consecutive days of padded practices in the heat, with cooler temperatures today as well.
Back at full strength in this year's camp has been defensive end Charles Omenihu. Injuries have limited Omenihu during his time with the Chiefs, but for the first time in Kansas City, he'll be on the field in week one.
For Omenihu, he says it will be exciting to be able to be on the field week one.
"It is going to be the first time I play in Week 1 since my fourth year in the league. So, I have definitely, these last two years have understood the fact of not taking things for granted. Understood the fact that you got to cherish everything in this game. Because I have been on the end where you’ve had to sit and wait for different reasons," Omenihu tells reporters. "So, I’ll be excited, I’ll be geeked (and) I’ll be ready to rock and ready to go help us get a win.”
Omenihu had just one sack in six games for the Chiefs last year, first hitting the field in week 13.
With a very young receiving group, when asked who the leader in that room is, Head Coach Andy Reid quickly said it was ninth year receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Smith-Schuster says that's a responsiblility he does not take lightly
"We’ve got a bunch of young guys in the room, different ages; and you know, for me it’s a big responsibility," Smith-Schuster says. "I take full control. I think I lead by, you know, not just by my words, but by my actions. And, you know, like I said there’s a lot of guys, a lot of experience, different ages, and everyone’s coachable, so, you know, I’m glad to take (on) that responsibility.”
After returning to practice yesterday (Tues), Xavier Worthy was out of practice today, and it was reported he is in concussion protocol, putting the Chiefs down three receivers with injuries to Skyy Moore and Hollywood Brown
The Chiefs are getting a little break after a tough stretch of practices, with three straight days of padded practices in pretty extreme heats.
Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo says he felt like the team held up pretty well through that tough stretch
"What will be really interesting to me, you know, we had the three hard days, we had today was 10-10-10 – we get the day off. The tough day to come back is the next one, you know after you’ve had the day off so I’m looking for them – if we can ramp it up on that day, I’ll be pretty happy," Spagnuolo says.
The “10-10-10” specifically refers to the team cycling through 10 offensive plays, 10 defensive plays and 10 minutes of special teams work during the duration of the practice session.
The Chiefs practiced for an hour and a half. They are off tomorrow and will practice again on Friday at 9:15.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.