Chiefs training camp notebook: Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes leave St. Joe satisfied with what they accomplished

And just like that, Kansas City Chiefs training camp is in the books.

Head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, his fellow quarterbacks and rookies got things underway on July 19. And 29 days later, the Chiefs leave Missouri Western State University with a foundation for the 2023 season.

"This is where it starts," said Reid in his final podium appearance in St. Joseph. "You're building this thing as it goes up. Every week is different. Every day's different in this thing, but you've accomplished some things here that are going to help carry you through during the season in a positive way."

The club's veterans joined the rookies and quarterbacks for the first full-team practice on July 23, affording the quarterback 19 on-field opportunities to acclimate with his teammates. But the real magic happens off the field, which is part of Reid's reasoning in getting the team away from Kansas City.

"I really have a fun time with just meeting people," said Mahomes. "A lot of times, you're in the building, you're with the offense, and even though you guys have team meetings, you don't get to see those defensive guys except for really only traveling on game day and that weekend. So being able to eat lunch, go to Chic-Fil-A, go get some pizza, whatever it is — just different guys that you're not around all year long, you build those relationships.

"I think the best part about St. Joe is you get out here, and you really get to see those guys you don't see maybe as much throughout the year and build those relationships, and that's what builds that bond that you have whenever times get tough during the regular season."

Mahomes said he saw improvements throughout the month — and specifically from receivers here for a second season. That list includes Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson.

Now the challenge shifts to taking that energy back to work in Kansas City, which naturally has more distractions than a vacant college campus.

"Even though I feel like we had a great camp, we have to have that mentality," said Mahomes. "It's not done. We still got weeks of practice getting ready for the game, that first regular-season game against the Detroit Lions, a team that's hungry and ready to come out there and try to beat us. So we have to have that mentality. We can't just be satisfied with how camp went. We have to keep that mentality throughout the entire season."

As to be expected by now, the comments of the quarterback and the head coach live in harmony.

"We take it one day at a time from there, just like they did when they were up here," added Reid. "You had to focus in. You couldn't say a month ago that we're looking for this day right here, or you're not going to go get any good work out of it, so they figured it out day by day, and crawled out of bed and got themselves mentally and physically ready to go and practiced hard."

Post-practice chat and press conferences

If you can't see the above (Apple iTunes) embed, click here. The press conference is also available on Spotify.

Injury report

• Did not practice (due to injury): OL Nick Allegretti (shoulder), WR Kekoa Crawford, CB Nic Jones (hand injured on 8/13), WR Nikko Remigio (shoulder injured on 8/15), CB L'Jarius Sneed (knee swelling on 7/31), WR Kadarius Toney (knee injured on 7/23), DT Turk Wharton (knee flare-up 8/11)
• Limited: RB Isiah Pacheco (hand, labrum)

Tweet of the day

Our John Dixon compiled all of Thursday's tweets here. Here is the tweet of the day:

Grand opening, grand closing.

Quote of the day

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, when asked what he had for breakfast: "I didn't eat breakfast this morning. I know that's hard to believe."

What's next?

The Chiefs break camp in St. Joseph and return to Kansas City. The team will travel to Arizona on Friday for its preseason game on Saturday, scheduled for 7 p.m. Arrowhead Time. Kansas City's preseason will resume at the practice facility on Monday, with press availability expected Monday through Wednesday.