Chiefs players react to training camp back in St. Joseph for 14th season
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs are one of eight NFL teams that have chosen to have training camp away from their practice facility.
For the Chiefs, they travel 65 miles north of their facility at 1 Arrowhead Drive to Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri.
It’s the 14th year that the Chiefs have been in St. Joseph and would be 15 straight years if they didn’t use 2020’s COVID season to practice at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs moved training camp from River Falls, Wisconsin to St. Joe and MWSU in 2010 and the Chiefs’ current contract at MWSU expires after the 2024 season.
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Head coach Andy Reid is an offensive mastermind, constantly evolving with the times, and is a father figure to many players, but he is still old school in certain areas like training camp. Living in college dorms for a month, bright and early morning morning meetings and practices, and keeping players together are staples of Reid’s training camps.
Some may think it’s barbaric or behind the times but you can’t argue with three Super Bowls in five seasons. The salaries of these players and coaches may be higher than the collective worth of the city of St. Joe, but in football, there’s no escaping the grind of hard work that is needed to breed success.
“There is a certain toughness this game requires and I think if you talk to the old veterans they’re going to tell you, ‘Well, it’s not as tough as it used to be,’” Reid said. “There is still a part of it that – it’s a tough guy sport and lady sport for where we are going with all of flag football. We’ve got that part of it going and it’s important that you develop that.
“If you are fatigued, then you are going to be fatigued mentally. If you are fatigued physically, that’s going to affect you mentally and if you are fatigued period then you can’t think and you can’t play, at least not to the best of your ability. The objective here is let’s get ourselves in shape, make sure we are in football shape, they are all going to come back in shape, but let’s get ourselves in football shape, both mentally and physically, so that we can perform at our best. The guys understand that. I mean that makes sense, so we try not to ask the guys to do anything that doesn’t make sense and if they have a question, ask us. Everything’s got a purpose of why we do it and ask if you don’t know. That is kind of how we go about it.”
The players understand that purpose well given the success of the team. Even defensive tackle Chris Jones, who held out of training camp last season for a contract dispute, posted on social media that he’s ready for camp this season.
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Aside from the physical toll of the grueling 35-day stretch where the sun shines directly on the double practice fields just across from MWSU’s Spratt Stadium, players and coaches stay in constant contact throughout the camp.
Training camp allows veterans to grow close and know what to expect from year to year.
“I think it’s just the relationships,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “I mean, when you’re all in this together, every single step of the way, you have to build friendships or you’re going to hate each other. You build friendships, you go to a lot of different places where you’re either eating on campus together or you’re eating at different places around the city. Then, you go to practice, and you work hard, and then you can talk about it right after. It’s not like you’re going on your way back home or whatever that is.”
Mahomes never even brought a TV with him to St. Joe until this year for two things: watch the Paris Olympics and play the video game EA Sports College Football 25, a game that is the first of its kind after a 12-year drought.
“I have a lot of conversations with guys like (safety) Justin Reid, (linebacker) Nick Bolton, and we talk about what can make each other better. Coaches – sometimes (Quarterbacks Coach David) Girardi gets mad [that] I give them tips on what they can do to hide stuff, but I’m like, ‘Dude, it’s going to make us better in the long run.’ At the end of the day, it’s just fun to kind of get to go up against the best of the best every single day.”
For rookies, they feel like they’re right back in college dazzled by the idea of doing the same thing but at a professional level. The first three days of camp are made for them to get adjusted to NFL life.
“I mean, it’s like a college training camp,” first-round pick wide receiver Xavier Worthy said. “I feel like there’s no better way to train for a training camp than coming out of college. It’s a tough training camp, so you got to prepare for it either way.”
Training camp in dorms also allows rookies to learn their first NFL playbook from one another and from the vets in what is commonly thought of as the biggest hurdle when joining the Chiefs. Worthy has missed the majority of offseason workouts with a hamstring issue and has been leaning on learning all wide receiver positions in the difficult playbook since he couldn’t learn them physically.
While watching practice, he’s been at offensive coordinator Matt Nagy’s hip.
“Just understanding the plays and why it’s ran and how he wants to run the alignments,” he said. Worthy practiced on Wednesday with a wrap around his left thigh to support his hamstring. “Understanding all the bits and pieces about the playbook, so I can come in and not miss a beat, like you said. It’s a different thing running the plays but I feel like it’s harder to learn the mental part. So, when you learn the mental part outside of the game, I feel like it’s much easier to come in and do it.”
“We’re all talented guys,” second-round rookie offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia said. Suamtaia is expected to compete for the starting left tackle position with second-year pro Wanya Morris.
“I mean, that’s why you’re in the league (and) in the NFL but it’s who’s going to put that foot forward and dive into the playbook more and really know the offense inside and out. I would say that would be the biggest.”
The Chiefs and division rival Las Vegas Raiders are also the only teams that don’t participate in joint practices, another trait for Reid that shows his clinging to the past that has proven beneficial.
“I think the way we go about it – I think we go fast, we practice hard, we do those things amongst ourselves, and the guys challenge each other, and I don’t think there’s a better way to do it, if your guys are willing to do that,” Reid said. “Our guys are up for that challenge, plus you’re not giving things away, so you can’t help but do that. Then you’re not having those skirmishes that you get in these inner squad deals, and no matter how much you talk – you put on a different uniform, you’re the enemy. It doesn’t matter if it’s during joint practices or not.”
As the Chiefs use this training camp to claw closer to a third straight Super Bowl, Chiefs fans from all over the area will descend upon 70,656-person St. Joe to watch almost every single practice, a place that Suamataia called “peaceful”.
With close quarters and minimal distractions, it’s an ideal place for a team striving to further etch its name in the highest of NFL lore.
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“I think we all know, in the NFL, every year is its own year,” Reid said. “We’ve said that every year along the way here. You have to stay on top of your game, you have to practice, you have to go through this camp and be in condition so you can perform well – mentally and physically – once the games come around.
“It all starts from scratch and happens over. We talked about it in the offseason and I think the guys will be ready to go.”
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