Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid is known to have one of the toughest training camps in the NFL.
This year might have been the most difficult — from battling heat and humidity to putting together a team with new faces in key spots. And as the Chiefs wrapped up camp Thursday in St. Joe, Mo., Reid couldn’t help but feel good about the progress his team made.
“I challenged the guys, which I think was important,” Reid said. “That bonding becomes important, and you bond when you’ve got to do something tough. And they answered the bell every day.
“I appreciate the effort that went into it, and I know some of them were hurting. But they got up and pushed through, and that foundation will pay off for them down the road.”
The wide receiver position saw the most turnover as Mecole Hardman is the only returning veteran from last year’s squad. The Chiefs signed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency and drafted Skyy Moore in the second round.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes now has bigger targets than last year, and he believes this year’s group might enable him to spread the ball around more.
“We have a lot of versatile receivers,” Mahomes said. “We have guys that are really fast that can still go up and make catches. So when you have guys that are big but can run fast and stretch the field and make those tough-contested catches it shows how versatile we are this year.
“It’s going to come from everywhere. It’s not going to come from one guy. It’s going to be everybody and I’m excited for it.”
On defense, the Chiefs revamped their secondary and defensive line, using seven of their 10 draft picks to shore up that side of the ball. Cornerback Trent McDuffie and defensive end George Karlaftis, the team’s two first-round picks, have been impressive. But so have safety Bryan Cook and cornerback Joshua Williams.
Mahomes said the offense and defense competed hard against each other, and added that both sides had their moments, which was encouraging.
“The offense had good days, and the defense had good days,” Mahomes said. “And that’s usually a good sign for a good football team.”
The Chiefs are one of only a few teams to have training camp in another city, and Reid said even though this camp was tough physically and mentally on the players, it also went smoothly.
“This camp went fairly fast,” Reid said. “Why? Not a lot of distractions. Guys coming in working hard, new bodies in here wanting to learn, new guys in here wanting to learn and they’re excited to be here.
“Patrick and his attitude — it’s a positive attitude from your leadership group every day and he tries to get better every day. (Travis) Kelce tries to get better every day. Chris Jones tries to get better every day. Frank Clark, they’re all there battling like crazy and that becomes contagious. And it presents you with a good camp when it’s all said and done.”
SMITH-SCHUSTER OUT
Reid said Smith-Schuster will miss Saturday’s preseason game against the Washington Commanders with a knee injury. Reid, however, said “there’s a good chance” Smith-Schuster could return to practice next week.
Reid also said there’s a chance Jones (sore back) and Hardman (groin) could play Saturday. Reid said the starters could play about a half.
