The Kansas City Chiefs held their sixteenth full training camp practice on Wednesday at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The Chiefs still had several players missing from practice on Wednesday. Those still missing from practice included TE Blake Bell (hip flexor) and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (sore knee). Bell missed his third practice, while Smith-Schuster missed his second practice. OT Lucas Niang (Knee) remains on the active/PUP list and out of practice as a result.
Two new absences from practice include LS James Winchester and RB Jerick McKinnon. With Winchester out of practice, RB Derrick Gore and TE Travis Kelce got snaps at long snapper during special teams work per Fox 4 Kansas City reporter Harold R. Kuntz. Winchester missed practice for personal reasons, while McKinnon has a strained hamstring.
During the course of practice, the team had two instances of key players leaving the practice field early via cart ride up the hill in St. Joe. First was DT Chris Jones, who left the practice field before the day of work even really got started. He left individual drills, walked to the cart under his own power, hopped in the front seat and left practice for the day. There was no apparent injury issue, but team PR confirmed after practice that Jones left with a sore back.
There was one apparent injury to occur during practice, however. WR Mecole Hardman left practice early after landing awkwardly during red zone team drills. He hobbled off the field with the help of the athletic training staff, who took a look at his left leg before sending him off the field in a cart. He walked to the front seat of the cart under his own power before leaving practice. The Chiefs confirmed that Hardman is dealing with a groin injury after practice. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says the team does not yet know how severe the injury is.
#Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman, who exited practice early today, is being evaluated for a groin injury, source said. The severity is unclear, but Hardman being able to walk off the field (before jumping on a cart to head into the building) was a good sign.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 17, 2022
Only one training camp practice session remains before the team will head back to Kansas City and resume training at team facilities. Hopefully, that one has fewer instances of injury.
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