Kansas City Chiefs wrap up first OTA session; reflect on the three day voluntary camp
May 22—Monday marked a significant day for NFL fans, as the world champion Kansas City Chiefs got back to true on-field work with Phase 3 of the offseason program. The Chiefs conducted their first three days of voluntary organized team activities, or known as OTAs.
Wednesday marked the end of the first 3-day OTA period, and the Chiefs got more of a glimpse on how this 2024-25 team will look. Two new offensive players will garner a lot of attention, as wide receivers Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy will look to stretch the field, opening the playbook once again.
"We tried to throw a few more deep passes, get back to the deep game and stuff like that," Mahomes said. "I think we've done a great job mastering the intermediate short stuff, but we want to get back to having that part of the offense as well, and so, coach is really pushing us to push it down the field."
However, Worthy's time was limited, as he tweaked his hamstring earlier in the week. The chiefs hope to get him back on the field as soon as possible to build chemistry with Mahomes. They also want the rookie to be fresh with play calling and signals.
Luckily, Worthy is understanding the playbook rather quickly, despite not being on the field.
"You can tell how intelligent he is, he's asking the right questions. I mean, before he had the hamstring thing, he was getting the work in," Mahomes said. "Sometimes it's tough with those guys coming off combine training. Little injuries like that happen and we're going to be precautionary right now."
As for wide receiver Rashee Rice, he's still facing legal issues with a car crash that happened in the Dallas area back in March. He had reported for full participation this week, and Mahomes said the team is working to help the wideout become better on and off the field.
"Just trying to do whatever we can to teach him how to learn from his mistakes. I mean, obviously that was a big mistake, but you get to learn from it and make sure it doesn't happen again and try to do whatever you can to be the best person you can be," Mahomes said. "Right now we're just trying to do whatever we can to get him on the right path so that he can be a great football player."
As for on the field workouts, the team is preparing for a grueling 2024 schedule, along with grasping the new kickoff format.
When it comes to the schedule, the chiefs will have a stretch of three games in 11 days, and they play every day of the week besides Tuesday this season.
"It's the first time in my career that that's happened, it's unique," head coach Andy Reid said. "You know how we are. I mean, we don't really care, they could give us a Tuesday game if they want. We'll be okay there."
As for the new kickoff format, that could take some getting used to. This upcoming season, the kicking team will have 10 players lining up at the receiving team's 40-yard line, while at least seven players from the receiving team must have their foot on the 35-yard line
"We're feeling that whole thing out as we go, it tells you how much of a nice job we're trying to work on," Reid said. "It's just that, you can't block full speed, so it's tough to get a full grasp of that whole thing, but it's going to be interesting."
Calvin Silvers can be reached at calvin.silvers@newspressnow.com.
