Kansas City Chiefs training camp is just a few weeks away scheduled to kick off at the end of the month, as usual. The NFL lockout has brought some uncertainty to camp this year so we've been waiting to hear if the Chiefs have any sort of deadline.
Ross Martin of the St. Joseph News-Press reports on a number of interesting nuggets regarding the Chiefs possible trip to Missouri Western State University this summer. The obvious caveat is that nothing is official, the Chiefs haven't announced anything, this report comes from a MWSU perspective and things can certainly change.
First, according to the report, Missouri Western expects the Chiefs to come to St. Joe even if the camp is shortened. Reading the tea leaves, it would appear there isn't a deadline coming in the next few days that would eliminate completely training camp in St. Joe. The Minnesota Vikings, for example, gave their training camp hosts a deadline of July 18 on whether they'll be traveling for camp or not. That MWSU is preparing for a shortened camp suggests that even if the lockout continues late into this month the Chiefs could still go to St. Joe instead of keeping the entire operation in Kansas City. From a logistical standpoint, there has to be some point when making the trip to St. Joe isn't worth it or logistically feasible. If the Chiefs are willing to have a shortened camp, then that date is probably later than sometime this week.
Second, Dan Nicoson, acting as the interim AD, told the News-Press that the Chiefs were "working with about five different scenarios" on attending camp. What would those scenarios be? My guess: an agreement reached this week, one reached the week of July 18, one reached the week of July 25, one in early August that would disrupt the start of camp and one that would eliminate training camp altogether. All five of those dates would affect the Chiefs camp plans in different ways.
The Chiefs and MWSU still making plans to keep camp in St. Joe also suggests some optimism from KC's front office on the next labor agreement. If the two sides weren't close or capable of striking a deal as soon as this week, then the Chiefs may have announced other plans. But that they're still planning on camp in St. Joe is a good sign, in my opinion.