The Kansas City Chiefs took the field for the 11th practice of training camp on Friday morning as the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions continued their preparation for the upcoming season.
Here's a quick rundown of what took place during Friday's practice, and for reference, all previous practice reports are available below:
1. The Chiefs ran a pair of entertaining 1-on-1 drills in quick succession.
The running backs, tight ends, linebackers and safeties were tested in a variety of ways during Friday's practice as part of two separate – but innately related – drills.
First, the running backs and tight ends took turns in pass-protection against a charging linebacker or safety. This drill inherently provided the defensive player with an advantage due to their running start, providing the offensive player with a real challenge as they tried to hold their own as a blocker.
The clear standout from the segment was tailback Isiah Pacheco, who recorded the top pass-blocking snap of the period midway through the drill.
Next, the advantage reversed as the defensive player was tasked with covering the offensive player on a passing play. Pacheco continued his strong practice with a reception on the first snap of the period, but perhaps the top moment of the latter segment was courtesy of running back Deneric Prince, who went up to make a leaping catch over the defender up the seam. Running back Louis Rees-Zammit also chipped in an impressive, over-the-shoulder catch deep downfield a bit later in the period.
Defensively, safety Bryan Cook logged an impressive play with a pass-breakup in coverage.
2. "Mahomes Magic" was in full force on Friday.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has often made the seemingly impossible appear routine over the course of his brilliant career, and while training camp practices don't carry the intensity of a real game, there were still numerous moments on Friday that fit that description.
For example, Mahomes recorded the play of the day when he scrambled to his left and appeared to be headed out of bounds before flicking his wrist and lobbing the ball across his body into the arms of wide receiver Mecole Hardman. It was a ridiculous play reminiscent of Mahomes' lob to tailback Jerick McKinnon against Denver in 2022.
Mahomes then logged another impressive play a bit later in practice when he scrambled to his right and tossed a touchdown pass to wide receiver Rashee Rice in the corner of the end zone. Rice was one of several receivers who tallied a noteworthy practice on Friday, joining Justyn Ross (who caught a touchdown on a fade), Hollywood Brown (the recipient of a quick pass on a tunnel screen that ended with a touchdown) and Cornell Powell (who scored twice during 11-on-11 red zone drills).
Another offensive note on Friday was that Wanya Morris, who has been battling rookie Kingsley Suamataia for the starting job at left tackle, worked at left guard throughout the practice.
Head Coach Andy Reid stressed that the competition at left tackle is still ongoing, but the emergence of Suamataia provided Offensive Line Coach Andy Heck with a chance to see what Morris could do on the interior during Friday's session.
"It gives us a chance to let Wanya work a little at guard," Reid said. "Andy [Heck] moves those guys around. You saw [offensive lineman Lucas] Niang in there last week, so Wanya got a shot at it today. It's not a permanent thing, it's just about seeing what we've got and what we can do there."
As for Suamataia, Reid has been impressed with what he's seen thus far.
"He's worked in with those starters, and he's doing a nice job there," Reid said. "He's working hard on the things we're trying to teach him [because] there are a lot of new things that he's learning, and he's playing aggressively. He's getting better every day and not taking steps back, which is important."
3. Linebacker Leo Chenal and safety Bryan Cook teamed up for a red zone takeaway.
One of the defensive plays of the day took place during a 7-on-7 red zone period when Chenal tipped a pass in the air before Cook tracked it down for the interception. It was an athletic and heads-up play by both players as the defense logged a "win" on the rep.
Safety Chamarri Conner also recorded a noteworthy defensive play during the 7-on-7 segment when he tallied a pass-breakup over the middle. The receiver even appeared to make the catch before Conner jarred the ball loose. Safety Tyree Gillespie made an impressive play, too, when he broke across the field and hauled in an interception during the period.
A defensive standout from the 11-on-11 portion of practice was cornerback Trent McDuffie, who successfully defended a fade thrown to the corner of the end zone. Linebacker Swayze Bozeman also stood out with a pass-breakup in the back of the end zone.
Overall, both sides of the ball made a handful of plays on Friday, which is really the best-case scenario for any practice.
"When it goes back-and-forth like it did, that's a positive thing," Reid said. "Both sides challenged each other…It was good work against good [competition]."
4. The Chiefs made a roster move prior to practice.
Kansas City made an addition to the offense on Friday with the signing of rookie tight end Geor'Quarius Spivey. The 6-foot-5, 238-pound Spivey appeared in 52 games during his collegiate career between Mississippi State (2018-20, 2023) and TCU (2021-22), catching 28 passes for 298 yards and a score. The majority of that production (11 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown) took place during Spivey's senior season at TCU in 2022.
In a corresponding move, the Chiefs waived tight end Izaiah Gathings.
5. Here's a look at Friday's injury report.
The Chiefs were without cornerback Nazeeh Johnson (hamstring), wide receiver Justin Watson (foot), wide receiver Kadarius Toney (ankle), linebacker Nick Bolton (elbow), cornerback Kelvin Joseph (hamstring) and safety Deon Bush (ankle) for Friday's practice.
Additionally, offensive tackle Wanya Morris (shoulder) left Friday's practice early.
As for the players who have yet to practice in St. Joseph, safety Justin Reid (quad) and defensive end BJ Thompson (who suffered a medical emergency in June) remain on the "Non-Football Injury/Illness" list.
Defensive end Charles Omenihu and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi are still on the "PUP," or "Physically Unable to Perform" list and also didn't take the field on Friday.
Next up, the Chiefs will have a day off from practice on Saturday before returning to the field on Sunday morning. The practice will be open to the general public, but even though most days are free to attend, tickets must be reserved online ahead of time.
For a look at the training camp schedule or for more information on how to reserve tickets, click here.
