Chiefs just one week from first preseason game
Aug. 6—The Kansas City Chiefs are just one week away from their first preseason game at the New Orleans Saints, their first action since Super Bowl LVII.
It's still unclear how much fans will see of the team's starters heading into next Sunday. Last year at Chicago, the first team offense saw just one series which resulted in a touchdown whereas the first team defense played two series and gave up no points in either series.
The special teams will be one of interest, especially as the NFL's new kickoff rule will be in place this season. The new rule states that any returner on kickoffs or free kicks can call for a fair catch and automatically place the ball on the returning team's 25-yard line as long as the returner calls for the fair catch is behind their own 25-yard line.
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub will possibly see the rule change that he and eight others in a committee tried to strike down go into effect. The fair catch rule on kickoffs, citing "player safety," will only be in effect for this season. However, according to reports, the NFL is considering the XFL's kickoff format. When asked after practice on Saturday, Toub would consider adopting the format as the league continues to consider player safety without suppressing the action of the game.
"We looked at that, they showed us that and it's a viable option," Toub said. "I kind of like it in a way, if we did go to it because it's 100% return. So if your coach, you're coaching returns and then you're going to get returns. But that could be the negative thing, too, that there is a lot of returns that could be more injuries."
Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph is quickly coming to a close as there are only seven more public practices before the team departs back to their own facility to get ready for the season.
The Chiefs have visited Missouri Western's campus for training camp for the better part of a decade now. Safety Justin Reid, in his second training camp with the Chiefs, cites the team-bonding aspect of camp as something that can pay dividends down the road.
"You come out and you're away from your family and everything, and that's always tough. But, the nice thing about being with the team is everybody's in the same place, at the same time, all day. I know a lot more guys on this team from being here in Saint Joe, being around each other, than I did in Houston just because you spend so much time together," Reid said.
The Chiefs will play three preseason games before preparing for a special opening night game Sep. 7 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to face the Detroit Lions, a budding team that just missed the NFC playoffs last season at 9-8. The Chiefs will see their newest Super Bowl championship banner unveiled that night.
Jacob Meikel can be reached at jacob.meikel@newspressnow.com.
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