Skip to main content
Advertising

Kansas City Chiefs Official Team Website | Chiefs.com

Training Camp Observations

Presented by

Five Observations from Sunday's Practice | Chiefs Training Camp 8/4

Here are some quick notes from Sunday’s practice

The Kansas City Chiefs took the field for the 12th practice of training camp on Sunday 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 Sunday's practice, and for reference, all previous practice reports are available below:

1. The Chiefs competed in a lighter, "10-10-10" practice on Sunday.

The Chiefs, who had the day off from practice on Saturday, took the field for a lighter, "10-10-10" practice on Sunday following the three-straight padded practices that took place between Wednesday and Friday.

A "10-10-10" session, which is not padded, consists of what is essentially a circuit of 10 offensive plays, 10 defensive plays and 10 special teams plays. Each segment is of the 11-on-11 variety, but unlike a standard period, the idea is to demonstrate what success looks like for the three respective phases. During the "offensive period," for example," the first-team offense competes against the second or third-team defense in an effort to skew the results toward the offense.

The opposing unit is still encouraged to make plays, but if the concept plays out properly, each segment of the team will experience what success looks like within the given scheme.

The Chiefs completed nearly three full circuits of the "10-10-10" format on Sunday with three offensive periods, three defensive periods and two special teams segments.

2. The deep passing game was working well throughout practice.

The "10-10-10" format is designed for plays to succeed for one specific phase, but it's still up to the players to execute, and the offense – particularly the deep passing game – was working well on Sunday.

In fact, on the first play of practice, quarterback Patrick Mahomes found wide receiver Xavier Worthy for a touchdown deep down the middle of the field. Wide receiver Hollywood Brown later hauled in a pair of deep catches as the period progressed, and on the final snap of the first "offensive" segment, Mahomes found wide receiver Mecole Hardman for a touchdown deep down the field.

Tight end Noah Gray also had a noteworthy day with a one-handed catch on a pass thrown slightly behind him early in Sunday's practice. Gray later added another reception deep down the field during the second "offensive" period of the day.

As for the top play of the day, wide receiver Nikko Remigio caught a pass deep down the middle of the field despite double coverage during the second "offensive" period. Remigio briefly bobbled the ball but stuck with it through contact to make the catch.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Nikko Remigio (81) makes a catch  during day 12 of training camp at Missouri Western State University on August 4, 2024 in St. Joseph, MO

3. Cornerback Trent McDuffie hauled in an interception.

McDuffie logged one of the top defensive plays of the day with an interception during a "defensive" segment of practice. McDuffie read the play from the snap and quickly jumped the route before hauling in the takeaway.

Rookie safety Jaden Hicks also recorded a noteworthy defensive play on Sunday when he broke up a pass down the sideline during another "defensive" segment. The receiver appeared to make the catch initially, but Hicks stuck with the play and jarred the ball loose.

Lastly, defensive end George Karlaftis notched a pass-breakup with a batted pass at the line of scrimmage during a "defensive" period.

In terms of specific areas of emphasis on Sunday, the Chiefs clearly focused on the red zone during the final "defensive" segment of the morning.

4. The special teams unit worked on the new kickoff rules once again.

The Chiefs have worked on some aspect of the new "dynamic kickoff" format nearly every day throughout training camp, and Sunday's practice was no exception.

Assistant Head Coach / Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub provided an update on the Chiefs' readiness to tackle the new-look play following practice:

"We did kick return again today, and I think we saw a lot of good things," Toub said. "One of the things we've learned is that everything happens faster. The blocks and the holes are there, but they're gone quickly. You have to see it and get upfield right away. I'm excited to see this thing live against [another] team."

5. Here's a look at Sunday's injury report.

The Chiefs were without wide receiver Kadarius Toney (ankle), linebacker Nick Bolton (elbow), cornerback Kelvin Joseph (hamstring) and wide receiver Jaaron Hayek (shoulder) for Sunday's practice.

In some good news, wide receiver Justin Watson (foot), cornerback Nazeeh Johnson (hamstring) and safety Deon Bush (ankle) participated in Sunday's practice.

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 Sunday.

Next up, the Chiefs will take the field on Monday for the 13th practice of training camp. 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.

Advertising