Kansas City Chiefs Mandatory Minicamp: New injuries emerge, Year 13 Travis Kelce hungry as ever, and more Day 2 takeaways.

Kansas City Chiefs News

On Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs completed Day 2 of their mandatory minicamp practices. According to Chiefs Digest’s Matt Derrick, the team moved practice indoors due to lightning in the area after about 50 minutes on the outdoor fields.

The Chiefs will hold their final mandatory minicamp practice earlier in the day on Thursday before breaking for roughly four weeks ahead of training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri. Expect it to resemble a 10-10-10 practice or a mock conditioning test as the team wraps Phase III of the offseason workout program.

The Vikings have a few dark horses in the mix to make the 53-man rosterThe Vikings have a few dark horses in the mix to make the 53-man roster

Here are some of the top takeaways and things to know from Day 2 of mandatory minicamp practices (find Day 1 takeaways here):

New injury and absences at Day 2 of Chiefs mandatory minicamp practices

UDFA TE Tre Watson, who hasn’t practiced since early on in OTAs, was among the players absent from practice. This time, WR Rashee Rice and RB Elijah Mitchell joined Watson. Chiefs PR confirmed after practice that Rice had an excused absence that was cleared with the team. Mitchell, who was scheduled to meet with the media but scratched late, seems to be dealing with some injury, illness, or ailment. Mitchell has a lengthy injury history, so that’ll be something to monitor as we progress toward training camp.

TE Jake Briningstool and CB Kristian Fulton attended practice without helmets, which disqualified them from participating in specific team drills and individual work. Still, they stretched and took some mental reps, which is valuable even if they can’t fully participate. I’m told TE Jared Wiley (ACL) had a helmet, but did not participate outside of stretch and other non-team drills.

WR Justyn Ross left the field early after landing awkwardly following a play in practice on Tuesday. He wasn’t on the field on Wednesday. We’ll see if he can participate in practice on Thursday, but Chiefs HC Andy Reid might have jinxed Ross with his comments at OTAs in late May.

“As long as he (Justyn Ross) stays healthy, and he’s out there, that’s a plus,” Reid said. “I mean, he competes – you can argue (that) he had one of the best camps last year. It’s just a matter of keeping him upright and trying to work him in that mix of guys. He’s a big receiver that has real good hands and has done a nice job for us.”

Chiefs veteran TE Travis Kelce slimmed down, humble, and hungry as ever entering Year 13

At 35, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is in great shape entering the 2025 NFL season, but there’s a little fib about just how much the veteran tight end slimmed down for mandatory minicamp.

“First of all, I never said (25 pounds),” Kelce said with a grin. “Don’t believe all you read on the internet, guys, all right, never told anybody.”

“I am down some weight from the end of the season last year,” Kelce continued, “But each year is different, man. You’ve got to rebuild it. And this year, I got some time to really focus on some form running and some things early on in the offseason that I just didn’t have time for last year. I’m certainly feeling good, and I think it’ll pay off.”

Kelce told reporters that he plotted out his offseason as soon as he decided to come back for the 2025 NFL season. The veteran tight end’s work begins in March and runs through February. It takes that much intentionality to really get your body and mentality right to prepare yourself for a 17-game NFL season and, hopefully, an extended postseason.

His decision to attend these mandatory minicamp practices was as much about preparing himself physically as it was about setting the tone for teammates for what’s ahead.

“The biggest thing is just making sure you’re out there on the field, being the leader, being the one that’s setting the tempo in terms of your work ethic, and I think that is always number one,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to walk the walk, as they say, to be able to talk it and preach it to guys. So, I think just putting myself in the best situation I can athletically is going to pay off down the road, as well as being a leader and being ready for those moments.”

When asked about his hunger, Kelce iterated that he still has plenty left to prove in the NFL.

“It’s all I know,” Kelce said. “I get that from the big guy. Coach Reid sets the tone and challenges us every single week and every year to come in and be better than we were last year. I inherited that over the course of being under Coach Reid throughout my 12 years here. It’s just a mentality that I know is going to set us up for success down the road. You know, we might not be the same team that we are in preseason that we are in late December, early January, and hopefully February. With that kind of mindset, no matter what you accomplished, you always think about that next game and next play and being better than your last.”

Chiefs TE Noah Gray makes sure he’s not the forgotten man with standout Day 2 practice

While Travis Kelce has been the talk of the town, with guys like Jake Briningstool and Robert Tonyan catching attention at various points of the offseason workout program, there’s another veteran in the room that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Noah Gray quietly put together a career year in 2024, with 40 receptions on 49 targets for 437 yards and five touchdowns during the regular season. He is already building on that performance during offseason workouts. A quick survey of a few media members at practice gave Gray an “offensive player of the day” performance on Wednesday.

“Noah Gray had an impressive day with multiple TD catches during red zone drills,” Chiefs team reporter Matt McMullen wrote on X. According to FOX 4 Kansas City’s Harold R. Kuntz, both touchdowns were while working with Patrick Mahomes and the first team offense.

Last week at OTAs, Gray also made some impressive plays.

Even with some injuries at the position group (mentioned above), the tight end position could be a strength of the offense as we sit here in mid-June.

The Chiefs’ starting defensive line looks somewhat familiar. . . for now

The Chiefs’ starting defensive line looks a lot like it did a season ago, at least for now.

Mike Danna and George Karlaftis remain the team’s starting edge rushers, while Chris Jones and Mike Pennel remain the team’s starting interior defenders. What has changed substantially is the frequency with which they’re rotating fresh bodies in along the defensive line. Players like Charles Omenihu, Omarr Norman-Lott, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Jerry Tillery, Fabien Lovett, and Ashton Gillotte, for instance, are all getting opportunities to mix in with that unit in various downs, distances, and looks for Kansas City.

One rookie, Norman-Lott, made a case for more opportunities on Day 2 of mandatory minicamp practices. KSHB-TV’s Nick Jacobs counted him with “a couple of good pressures” on Wednesday. This builds off of previous performances at OTAs, where he’s had plays that would have been either a hurry, QB hit, or a sack if it were a full-contact situation.

In the interim, these practices are more about finding out what the group of players they currently have is best at. From there, it’ll be about building on those opportunities and putting players in the best situations to find success.