ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes receiving clearance to return to full football work stole the headlines Friday, but good news on wide receiver Rashee Rice’s offseason knee surgery also boosted optimism on the first day of Chiefs’ training camp.
Rice’s offseason proved chaotic after the 26-year-old underwent a debridement procedure in mid-May to remove debris that was causing inflammation. Then on May 19, Rice was ordered to serve 30 days in jail after testing positive for THC in violation of his probation stemming from an automobile accident in March 2024. Rice was released on June 16 and resumed rehab for his knee in Kansas City.
“He’s done a great job rehabbing up here,” Reid said during Friday’s moving-in day for rookies, quarterbacks and select veterans returning from injury. “He’s been up here the whole time, and then he’ll be in and out here the next couple days, but he’s been here throughout.”
While Rice is ready to return to the field, it will likely be a bit longer for defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, whom Reid expects to start camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. He tore his ACL in Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders after playing 73 defensive snaps in five games.
First-round cornerback Mansoor Delane was undergoing his final examination Friday afternoon for clearance to practice Saturday. Delane injured his shoulder during offseason workouts and did not participate in the team’s mandatory minicamp in June.
Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who has dealt with a chronic left knee issue extending back to his first stint with the Chiefs, will also be watched closely starting camp, Reid said. The Chiefs regularly managed Sneed’s knee issues during the 2022-23 seasons, and he had a cleanup surgery on the knee plus surgery for an injured quad during the 2025 offseason.
“We’ll just take him slowly and gradually get him back into the mix there as we go,” Reid said. “But look forward to getting him on the field.”
Undrafted rookie free agent John Michael Gyllenborg, a former tight end for Wyoming from Leawood, Kansas, who played at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, is still working through a knee strain that developed during the offseason program. Reid said he is unlikely to work much during this weekend’s minicamp.
“Other than that, I think everybody’s in pretty good position to roll,” Reid said. “Really, Norman-Lott’s the main one there. But again, big guys with ACLs, it takes a little bit of time to get them back and fully strengthened up and ready to go.”
Putting the Past Behind
Make no mistake, there are few positive memories the Chiefs carry from last year’s 6-11 campaign. Reid says it’s time this team puts what happened a year ago behind them and focuses on the future.
“The whole point of the mindset was that last season was last season, and then it’s now,” Reid said. “We aren’t focusing on that last season. We are focusing on now, and your mindset has to be right for that and going forward, and taking one day at a time and cranking it out.”
Over the past 10 seasons, the NFL has averaged six teams per season making the playoffs after missing out the year before. That means on average, more than 40% of the league’s playoff field turns over from one year to the next.
“There is so much change year-to-year, every year is different,” Reid said. “If you are focused on the issues last year, then it’s going to take away what you are doing this year. You have to focus on the present and giddy up and go. You’re given an opportunity to do that in this league, with all the parity in this league, so that is where we are at.”
Building the Perfect Beast
The lack of a postseason in Kansas City last year didn’t mean an early vacation for Reid and his coaching staff. It meant there was more time to create new game plans and retool an offense that showed signs of aging. The Chiefs’ offense spent six straight seasons ranked among the top-6 scoring units in the NFL from 2017 to 2022 before posting finishes of 15th, 15th and 21st the last three seasons.
Reid believes his staff used its additional offseason time wisely.
“With that, if you get nothing else, you get reps at looking at plays, an opportunity to look at other teams, study those teams, dig in the college level and see things that are going on there,” Reid said. “You have more time to go through things.”
Even the return of Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator has brought in an influx of new concepts. Bieniemy spent last season as running backs coach working for head coach Ben Johnson in Chicago, where the Bears ranked No. 3 in the NFL with 2,456 yards rushing.
“He was running some of the same stuff — before he went to Chicago, he was running some of the same stuff we were doing here, so it was easy for him to pick it up and keep rolling forward,” Reid said. “He brought some good ideas with him too on top of it.”
Return of Minicamp
The Chiefs eliminated its early report date for rookies, quarterbacks and injured players last season, and it was a decision Reid second-guessed.
“It’s a good thing for the quarterbacks,” Reid said. “It’s a good thing for the rookies coming in. We do have more numbers this year, so it allows us to get more reps in, and I think that will benefit us.”
Last year the Chiefs had seven draft picks, 15 undrafted free agents, and 10 first-year players eligible to report early. Those numbers and the makeup of the roster would have made it difficult even to field 7-on-7 lineups.
This year, the Chiefs also have seven draft picks along with 21 undrafted free agents, and 10 eligible first-year players. Unlike last year, however, the Chiefs also have two starters in Mahomes and Rice returning from injuries. But the larger rookie class is the compelling factor for Reid.
“That’s a primary thing,” Reid said. “The rookies, I just thought it was necessary. I didn’t like not doing it last year after I got done with it, to be honest with you.”
What’s Next?
The Chiefs conduct their first practice of camp Saturday with the quarterbacks, rookies and select veterans returning from injuries participating. The morning workout is not open to the public. The club wraps up the minicamp with closed practices Sunday and Monday.
Veteran players report on Monday, while Tuesday is an acclimation day, which includes medical evaluations, testing and team meetings. The first full-squad workout is set for 9:15 a.m., Wednesday, July 29. The session is open exclusively to the club’s season-ticket members. The first practice open to the general public kicks off at 9:15 am. on Thursday, July 30.
Tickets for most practices are free, but there is a parking fee. Training camp tickets and parking passes can be obtained on the club’s website.
