June 14, 2016; Kansas City, MO; Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith addresses the media on Day One of mandatory minicamp at the team’s training facility. (Rex Wolf/The Topeka Capital-Journal)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Chiefs on Tuesday entered the home stretch of offseason workouts with a three-day mandatory minicamp.
The camp concludes Thursday, but there isn’t a big difference from what the team experienced during organized team activities (OTAs).
Well, there is one exception – the Chiefs can keep players longer.
“We get to have a (morning) walkthrough, get to be in meetings a little longer, I think there’s less restrictions the amount of time we can be on the field,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “Essentially, it’s a lengthened OTA, we’re just in helmets.”
Smith said the tempo of minicamp is the same as OTAs, and there is another realization of what the upcoming three days means.
“You do know this is it for kind of offseason work, spring ball, so to speak,” Smith said.
When minicamp ends Thursday, the Chiefs will then take a long break before reporting for training camp in St. Joseph, Mo.
Training camp, of course, offers a large factor during practice currently missing from how the players workout on the field during OTAs and minicamp.
“We don’t have pads on,” Smith said. “I mean, this isn’t 100 percent real football, a little bit of a passing camp, so to speak, it’s hard to do a lot of the run game.
“There is that physical side of the game even for skill players, receivers and stuff, there is an element that’s not present as well without pads. Those guys, when we do get the pads on will really see what it’s about, but it’s good work.”
When the pads come on during training camp, the Chiefs will have the opportunity to continue building on OTAs and minicamp.
And Smith believed the past weeks of workouts have proven productive.
“I think we had a great offseason, got a ton of work in, stayed healthy – knock on wood,” Smith said. “That’s what this is about a little bit this time of the year, just kind of accumulating reps.”
COOK INJURED
Wide receiver Kenny Cook went down early in the warm-up session after slipping on the turf. Cook, who spent time on the Chiefs practice squad in 2015, reached down and grabbed his left leg before receiving attention from head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder.
Burkholder and another trainer helped Cook off the field before loading him on the back of a cart to be taken off the field.
The Chiefs did not have an update on Cook’s status after practice.
TRYOUTS
The Chiefs brought in four players, two on offense and two on defense, on a tryout basis for the three-day minicamp:
• Rookie wide receiver Devonte Robinson, Utah State
• Wide receiver Seantavius Jones, Valdosta State
• Cornerback Chris Greenwood, Albion
• Rookie cornerback Trenton Coles, Duquesne
Jones originally entered the league in 2014 as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints and spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Greenwood entered the league in 2012 as a fifth-round pick of the Detroit Lions and spent time with the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots.
Coles attended the Chiefs rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.
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Herbie Teope is the lead Chiefs beat writer for The Topeka Capital-Journal and ChiefsDigest.com. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @HerbieTeope.
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