Chiefs mostly healthy to start camp, Travis Kelce to get extra work

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid took the podium at Missouri Western State in St. Joseph on Tuesday ahead of three mornings of on-field work for quarterbacks and rookies leading into veteran report day on Friday afternoon.

Tight end Travis Kelce, though not a quarterback (most of the time) or a rookie, will also reportedly be in attendance after missing all of the Chiefs’ offseason workouts following an “ankle cleanup” surgery. This is typical for Reid-led teams, as noted by Arrowhead Pride’s in-house sports medicine expert Aaron Borgmann.

Back in mid-June, Kelce told Arrowhead Pride he would be “ready to go” for training camp.

Reid added that the only two players who wouldn’t be ready to practice on day one for rookies were linebacker Darius Harris and defensive end Tim Ward. The Chiefs knew both talented undrafted free agents were unlikely to be available at the start of this season back in May.

Here‘s what Borgmann said regarding Harris and Ward in our training camp injury outlook posted last month.

LB Darius Harris

From what is known, it appears Harris had some sort of undisclosed shoulder injury before he was signed that will sideline him for at least a little while. It has been reported that he could miss part of training camp or longer. Without more knowledge of condition, it’s impossible to speculate. Based on some comments, it seems as if the team thinks he may be able to contribute this year at some point, but he could be in line for a “redshirt” IR year as well, similar to Ward. If the team sees progress with the injury and likes the upside of Ward, he could be a PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list candidate. We will need to wait for more info on this one.

DE Tim Ward

Ward had ACL reconstruction in November of 2018. From what we have read and been told so far, it appears that this player may be shelved for a “redshirt” year due to this injury. Not always a negative for an incoming college player, this gives him a year to learn, get stronger and be prepped for a better chance at making the team in the future. It is very hard for an injured collegiate player to make an NFL roster after having zero offseason work with new team. Anticipate injured reserve for the full season at this time.