The Kansas City Chiefs have officially wrapped their final training camp practice of the year at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The Chiefs saw a few players return to practice on Thursday, including RB Jerick McKinnon (hamstring) and LS James Winchester (personal). Those still missing from practice included TE Blake Bell (hip flexor), WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (sore knee), WR Mecole Hardman (groin) and DT Chris Jones (back). OT Lucas Niang (knee) remains on the active/PUP list and out of practice as a result.
Bell missed his fourth practice, while Smith-Schuster missed his third practice. Hardman and Jones both sat out of practice after leaving early on Wednesday. The latest on Hardman’s groin injury after MRI tests is that it’s considered a minor groin strain. Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke after practice, saying that Hardman and Jones could play on Saturday if need be. I’d guess that they’ll hold both players out for the time being. Reid also added that Smith-Schuster is making progress on his knee injury.
After practice wrapped up, several injured players came to break one final huddle with military members for the team’s “Military Appreciation Day.” Hardman, Jones and Smith-Schuster walked down the hill to participate. Justyn Ross was also among those coming down the hill. He’s on injured reserve and remains in a walking boot after having foot surgery.
Justyn Ross sighting at the end of #ChiefsCamp pic.twitter.com/SKSdLGewUO
— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) August 18, 2022
Ultimately, the good news is that the Chiefs avoided any of the major season-ending injuries during the course of training camp. It’s always the goal to get out of camp as healthy and this year it feels like they accomplished that goal.
[listicle id=134453]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]