Chiefs’ three-day mandatory minicamp begins Tuesday

The Kansas City Chiefs will conclude Phase Three of their offseason program this week with their mandatory minicamp, which will run from Tuesday through Thursday at the team’s practice facility on the grounds of the Truman Sports Complex. This follows 10 days of voluntary Organized Team Activities (OTAs) over the last three weeks.

Unlike previous portions of Phase Three, all Chiefs players are required to be in attendance — or they will be subject to daily fines mandated by the league’s 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA): $15,500 on the first day, $31,000 for the second day and $46,500 for the third. Under previous CBAs, clubs were allowed to waive these fines — or even to reimburse players for them when they signed new contracts. This is no longer allowed.

Under 2021’s modified offseason rules and schedule, here’s what’s allowed during this part of the program.

Phase Three (May 24-June 18) remains its customary four weeks in length. Beginning in Phase Three, clubs may conduct in-person meetings and classroom instruction subject to COVID-19 testing cadence, tracking, facility access and other protocols. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.

Unlike during OTAs — where a few reporters were allowed to observe practice for just one day each week — we expect that a handful of reporters will be allowed to observe all three of the mandatory sessions. After all of them, we also expect that the media will have opportunities to question selected Chiefs players and coaches via Zoom conference calls.

When these practices have completed, players and coaches will not gather again until training camp opens at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Missouri on Tuesday, July 27.