Chiefs players and coaches get back to work on Monday

While most of us outside the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice facility at the Truman Sports Complex remain focused on the NFL Draft — which begins a week from Thursday at Union Station in Kansas City — the 64 players now on the team’s 2023 roster can get back to work on Monday.

That’s the day on which 26 of the NFL’s teams will begin their voluntary offseason programs. Five teams with new head coaches — the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts — began their programs last week. The Philadelphia Eagles will begin OTAs next Monday.

The first phase — which will last for two weeks — is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation only. While the program is voluntary, the Chiefs are expected to have a very good turnout, because the team tends to draw up player contracts that include workout bonuses.

We expect that reporters will be allowed to question head coach Andy Reid and some Chiefs players through a Zoom conference call sometime on Monday.

While there has been no official announcement, we expect Kansas City to conduct its post-draft rookie minicamp May 6-8. Then there will be three weeks of OTAs: May 22-24, May 30-June 1 and June 6-9. The team’s mandatory minicamp will be held June 13-15.