The Kansas City Chiefs have a long injury list this week as they go through longer practices.
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid is known for his tough training-camp practices that are designed to push his players to and past their limits, but the approach is also taking a toll, according to Nate Taylor of ESPN.
Specifically, the issue is injuries, and lots of them. Left tackle Josh Simmons left yesterday’s practice due to a back issue, and receivers Tyquan Thornton (strained hamstring) and Jimmy Holiday (quad) left early as well, per Taylor.
Other casualties earlier in the practice included defensive end Ashton Gillotte, who returned just two days ago following a strained hamstring, sustained a right foot injury while covering tight end Jared Wiley. Linebacker Jack Cochrane missed Tuesday's work with a right knee injury.
Those players were added to a list that includes safety Chamarri Conner (sore knee), right guard Trey Smith (hip), cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed (knee) and Kader Kohou (sore ankle), linebacker Drue Tranquill (lower back spasms) and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (right knee), all of whom have been held out of practice for much of the past week.
The Chiefs definitely need some toughening up after their decidedly soft showing against the Los Angeles Rams in their first preseason game, but it’s fair to question Reid’s old-school approach to training camp practices. It’s one thing to push players and another to get them hurt, and some of Reid’s offensive concepts have been described as “antiquated” by the talking heads.
Fair or irrelevant, those criticisms come with the territory after a 6-11 season. The Chiefs have already had top pick Mansoor Delane out after the cornerback sustained a shoulder injury before minicamp, although defensive tackle Peters Woods has been a revelation, as he’s been called the best performer in training camp so far.
But the 17-game schedule presents new challenges up and down the roster, and getting players nicked up in training camp doesn’t seem like a good strategy. There’s plenty of time to get everyone healthy, but it’s hard to see these practices as productive with so many players out.
The good news is that the big names have been both healthy and productive. Any positive updates about the performance of quarterback Patrick Mahomes tend to cut through the rest of the injury noise, and the reports about running back Kenneth Walker III put the cherry on top.
There are still questions about which receivers will step up and who’s going to start on the right side of the line, though, and the sheer number of injuries so far doesn’t clarify things.
