KC Chiefs mandatory minicamp: Position battles, story lines, injury report and more

The Kansas City Chiefs mandatory minicamp will take place over three days -- Tuesday, June 17 through Thursday, June 19. The players are not in full pads (shorts and helmets) and there is no tackling. These practices are for the installation of the offense, defense and special teams as much as anything. They're not working on tackling out here. The offensive and defensive linemen are limited in what they can do.

The difference between OTAs and mandatory minicamp is basically that you get a second practice during minicamp, but that's a walk-through. So the Chiefs can keep the players in the building a little bit longer. They're allowed to do 11-on-11 work, which is valuable.

"You can have them in the building a little longer, and you can have a walk-through," Andy Reid said last week. "That constitutes a second practice. What we'll do is we'll have a walk-through in the morning, and then we'll have the practice in the afternoon. The practice will be like [OTAs]."

Read the phase three rules here for an idea of what is and isn't allowed.

Who: All 89 players on the roster

What: Mandatory minicamp; or non-contact practices

Where: Chiefs practice facility next to Arrowhead Stadium

When: Tuesday, June 17 through Thursday, June 19

Why: Prepping for the 'ship

Chiefs practice today and tomorrow at 1:20 p.m. (Arrowhead Time). Thursday's is scheduled for 11:15 a.m.

— Arrowhead Pride (@ArrowheadPride) June 17, 2014

There is no live-tweeting so we'll have updates after the roughly two-hour practice ends.

Chiefs offseason schedule:

Offseason workouts begin: April 21
Rookie minicamp: May 24-26
OTAs: May 27-29, June 3-5, June 10-13
Mandatory Minicamp: June 17-19

Top story lines

Will Justin Houston show up? I don't know! With Houston out, Frank Zombo has been running the most with the first team, along with Tamba Hali. First round pick Dee Ford has seen some first team snaps.

UPDATE: Justin Houston NOT expected at Chiefs minicamp, according to the KC Star.

Replacing Brandon Flowers. For the first time since the Herm Edwards years, the Chiefs will be lining up without Brandon Flowers in the secondary after he was cut last week. Marcus Cooper and Sean Smith are expected to be your new starters. About Sean Smith...

First or second team for Sean Smith? After the Chiefs CB was arrested for DUI last week, Andy Reid put him on the second team. Ron Parker played with the first team. That lasted all last week. Will it continue?

More action for Travis Kelce and Kyle Williams? They're both out with injuries from last year but Reid said last week that both could see increased action this week. "We think next week we'll be able to get a little bit out of Kelce and possibly Kyle Williams," Reid said. "We'll have to see how all that works." Kelce's involvement particularly would be key for the Chiefs offense.

Welcome back, De'Anthony Thomas. He practiced with the rookies at the rookie minicamp in May but has not been back with the team since due to an NFL rule. He is now back for the mandatory minicamp after having to spend part of his offseason learning via Skype. His presence will potentially affect slot receiver and the returners, depending on where the Chiefs put him.

Free safety battle continues. The Chiefs are mixing and matching guys with even Eric Berry seeing some time as the deep safety. Husain Abdullah and Sanders Commings are both competing there. This is a key battle.

Tyler Bray or Aaron Murray? The battle for the No. 3 QB job. Bray has been getting reps ahead of Murray so far in practices. This battle won't really be decided until training camp. Each player has his ups and downs this month. No clear leader.

Lots of names at right guard. The Chiefs are rotating multiple players here, including Rishaw Johnson, rookie Zach Fulton and Jeff Linkenbach. This is the position on the o-line that's the most unsettled.

Injuries at slot receiver. The Chiefs lost Junior Hemingway all last week due to strep throat. Weston Dressler went down with a hamstring injury last week, too. That has put players like Frankie Hammond Jr. into a first team role in some packages. That's far enough down the depth chart that it's a little concerning.

Eric Fisher not fully practicing until training camp. He is doing some of the individual work and installation things but he is not involved when the Chiefs go to 11-on-11. He is expected to return for training camp next month. Donald Stephenson (expected to be the starting right tackle) has been replacing him at left tackle while J'Marcus Webb has (mostly) been the top right tackle.

Jamaal is back, right? I'm assuming this isn't much of a story line but Jamaal Charles missed two days of OTAs last week. Right around that time, he was hosting his football camp in his hometown in Port Arthur, Texas, so I'm assuming that's the reason he missed practice. The Chiefs just said "personal reasons" for some reason which makes fans go crazy with speculation.

Injury report

WR Weston Dressler: Hamstring injury suffered last week. No word on his status for this week.

WR Junior Hemingway: Didn't practice last week due to strep throat.

CB David Van Dyke: Hamstring injury.

CB Chris Owens: Another hamstring. He's potentially the starting nickel corner so this is one to watch. Malcolm Bronson has stepped in his place.

WR AJ Jenkins: He did have a hamstring injury for a couple of weeks but returned last week. Looks like he should be good to go.

LT Eric Fisher: After offseason shoulder surgery, he's not expected to be practicing fully until training camp. He is, however, on the field during practice. Just not working in the team drills.

TE Travis Kelce: After microfracture surgery last October, Kelce continues rehabbing. He attends practice but watches during drills.

WR Kyle Williams: Like Kelce, he attends practice but doesn't participate fully. He had ACL surgery last November.

Fines for not showing up

Since this is mandatory, players can be fined for not showing up. The Chiefs this offseason had two players not showing up -- Brandon Flowers and Justin Houston. Flowers has now been cut.

From the CBA, the cost of skipping mandatory minicamp:

Unexcused failure to report to or unexcused departure from mandatory offseason minicamp-maximum fine of $10,000 for the first missed day, which amount shall increase by $10,000 per day for each day of the player's absence or departure (e.g., a player who misses all three days of minicamp may be fined up to $60,000).

Mandatory minicamp rules

From the CBA:

• No mandatory veteran minicamp may exceed three days in length, plus one day for physical examinations.
• The minicamp must be conducted during the week (Monday through Friday), with physicals taking place on Monday but no practice or workouts on that day, practices on Tuesday through Thurs­day and a day off on Friday.
• The minicamp must be conducted during week three or week four of Phase Three of the Club's offseason workout program.
• The Phase Three rules set forth in Article 21, Section 2(b)(iii) of this Agreement shall apply to all mini­camp activities.

Two-a-day practices shall be permitted at two of the three practice days of the Club's one mandatory minicamp, subject to the following rules:

• (i) players may be on the field for a total of no more than three and one-half hours per day;
• (ii) players may participate in one practice for no more than two and one-half hours of on-field activities under Phase Three rules;
• (iii) the second practice may only be for the remaining portion of the players' daily three and one-half hour on-field activities and shall be limited to walk-through instruction only;
• (iv) no organized team activities (including treatment and taping) may begin prior to 7:00am local time or end after 8:30pm local time, and players shall be given at least one hour for lunch and dinner each;
• (v) players may only be asked to participate in Club activities for a maximum of ten hours per day including taping and treatment but excluding meal time.
• The on-field time limits described above shall begin as soon as position coaches begin to coach players on the field.