The first wave of Kansas City Chiefs players returned to the team’s facilities ahead of their July 21 start date for training camp. The group consisted of rookies and quarterbacks, with the rest of the team set to join them on July 19.
With their title defense at stake, Head Coach Andy Reid kicked things off with a rather dour update on several players.
“BJ Thompson will start training camp on the NFI [non-football injury] list, per Coach Reid. He added that Thompson is doing great, but still going through some procedures,” Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen reported on X on July 16. “Jaylen Watson, Charles Omenihu, Derrick Nnadi and Joe Thuney will probably begin camp on the PUP list, per Reid.”
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Thompson was a fifth-round pick (No. 166 overall) by the Chiefs in the 2023 NFL Draft.
He had a seizure and went into cardiac arrest during a special teams meeting in June, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He was able to return home days later and is still working his way back onto the field. Thompson appeared in one game in 2023, notching two tackles in Week 18 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Watson was a seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft.
He has started eight of his 32 pro games, including two last season. The big-bodied cornerback has one career interception, which he returned 99 yards for a score as a rookie. 2023 starter and star L’Jarius Sneed signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency. Watson is at risk of missing valuable time to stake his claim to the starting spot opposite rising star Trent McDuffie.
He had the third-most defensive snaps behind McDuffie and Sneed in 2023, per Pro Football Reference.
Omenihu missed the first six weeks of the 2023 campaign with a suspension for violating the league’s conduct policy stemming from a domestic violence charge from January 2023. The former San Francisco 49er recorded 7.0 sacks in his 11 games with the Chiefs.
Nnadi’s absence may be the most significant among the defenders. He started all 17 games last season for the Chiefs. He played less than 50% of their defensive snaps, though.
Thuney’s absence is the most significant of the group. A key free agency acquisition in 2021, Thuney has missed two games in his three seasons in Kansas City. As part of the group charged with keeping All-World quarterback and fellow Pro Bowler Patrick Mahomes upright, Thuney’s presence is vital.
Chiefs Have Time on Their Side
The rules about placing and removing players from the PUP list are far looser in training camp and the preseason. So this could also be as much about preserving guys early as it is about any serious injury concerns.
It is just another layer to a tumultuous offseason for the defending champions.
The long break has seen several less-than-flattering offseason developments. But camp represents a chance to start fresh.
Reid’s announcement dulls the excitement, if ever so slightly. But with the preseason still to go and more than one month before the start of the season, there is plenty of time for everyone on the list to get back to 100% in time for Week 1.
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