The latest
NFL’s 10 biggest position battles for 2025 training camps | SB Nation
Who wins the left tackle job in Kansas City?
Along the way to Super Bowl LIX many experts pointed to the offensive line as a potential problem for the Kansas City Chiefs. Yet as they rolled through the regular season and into the playoffs, Patrick Mahomes and company found ways to overcome that perceived weakness.
The bill finally came due in the big game, as the Philadelphia Eagles hounded Mahomes to the tune of 16 pressures and
ADsix sacks despite using just a four-man rush during the entire contest.
This year that group will look a little different, particularly on the left side. Veteran Joe Thuney, who slid to left tackle due to need last year, is in Chicago having been traded to the Bears. That means 2024 second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia likely slides into the left guard spot vacated by Thuney.
As for left tackle, Kansas City drafted Josh Simmons out of Ohio State to close out the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Simmons began his college career on the right side at San Diego State, before moving over to the left side after transferring to Ohio State. He is also coming off a knee injury, which clouds the picture somewhat. He likely gets the first crack at the spot, but veteran Jaylon Moore, added in free agency, is another option.
Protecting Mahomes’ blindside is a big task in Kansas City, and after Super Bowl LIX Andy Reid and company will want the best man for the job.
What’s the Worst-Case Scenario for Each NFL Team in 2025? Predicting Each Franchise’s Nightmare Outcome | Pro Football Network
Kansas City Chiefs: 11-6
Since Patrick Mahomes took over as their starting quarterback in 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs haven’t finished below 11-6 in a regular season. That feels like a safe worst-case scenario to provide for one of the NFL’s consistent powerhouses.
The Chiefs went 15-2 last year, and one of those losses came in Week 18. They lost Joe Thuney and Tershawn Wharton this offseason, but their core on both sides of the ball is mostly intact. They could also drop a few of the toss-up games on their schedule, but double-digit wins feels like a lock for them.
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice to be full participant in training camp despite upcoming jail stint | CBS Sports
On Sunday, the day before players are scheduled to report, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Rice would be a full participant in camp. Reid’s decision comes three days after Rice was sentences to 30 days in jail and five years probation for his role in a multi-car crash in 2024 in Dallas, Texas.
“We’re going to progress as normal with him,” Reid said, according to the Associated Press. “He’ll go in and take all the reps that he’ll normally take. We always rotate that position. Depending on what happens here with the future, whoever needs to play will step in and know what they are doing and be in good shape to do it.”
Chiefs’ latest move should improve Super Bowl chances | Yardbarker
In his annual position rankings survey, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler didn’t list Karlaftis in his top 10, but the two-time Super Bowl champion received an honorable mention.
“Quick off the ball, has very good hand usage and mixes moves very well. He’s always destructive in the run game,” an NFC executive said of Karlaftis, according to Fowler.
The Chiefs ranked 15th in points scored last season (22.6). Their offense could continue to underwhelm during the 2025 season.
Kansas City took Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons (pick No. 32) in the 2025 NFL Draft, but their offensive line still seems shaky. Per Pro Football Reference, the Chiefs tied for fourth in the league in pressures allowed (163) last season.
Around the NFL
JC Tretter resigns from NFL Players Association | NBC Sports
In a lengthy interview that was posted earlier this hour, Tretter tells Jonathan Jones of CBSSports.com that Tretter is resigning from the NFL Players Association. The former union president had returned last year, as the NFLPA’s chief strategy officer.
“Over the last couple days, it has gotten very, very hard for my family,” Tretter said. “And that’s something I can’t deal with. So, the short bullet points are: I have no interest in being [executive director]. I have no interest in being considered; I’ve let the executive committee know that. I’m also going to leave the NFLPA in the coming days because I don’t have anything left to give the organization.”
But Tretter was a candidate to become the interim executive director. And Pablo Torre’s reporting pointed to a broader strategy by Tretter to eventually succeed Lloyd Howell as the full-time, non-interim leader of the union.
“I want to get my story out there, and I don’t want it to look like this was sour grapes or I didn’t get the job and I wanted the job,” Tretter said. “All I want to do is tell my story and then go be with my family.”
Seahawks release tight end Noah Fant after 3 seasons | ESPN
Fant’s future with the Seahawks had been uncertain because of his outsized contract and underwhelming production over three seasons in Seattle, and it became an even bigger question after the team spent a second-round pick in April on tight end Elijah Arroyo.
Fant’s release, which comes two days before veterans are due to report to training camp, saves the team $9 million in cash and $8.91 million in cap space. Seattle will take on $4.5 million in dead money.
The Seahawks already had roughly $27 million in cap space before Fant’s release, according to OverTheCap.com, though some of their available funds could be earmarked for upcoming extensions.
Donald Trump Threatens to Block Washington NFL Stadium Plan | SI
Donald Trump’s targeting of Washington’s football team continued on Sunday. The president took to Truth Social and threatened to block the Commanders’ deal for a new stadium if the team didn’t revert back to its old name.
Trump said the following (punctuation and grammatical errors are his):
“My statement on the Washington R------- has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way. I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original “Washington R-------,” and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, “Washington Commanders,” I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone. Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians. The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change. What he doesn’t understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election. Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs News: Andy Reid loves Trey Smith and George Karlaftis signings
Smith’s deal gave the team additional cap space that could be used to get contract extensions for the team’s two first-round draft picks from 2022: cornerback Trent McDuffie and defensive end George Karlaftis. On Sunday afternoon — as the team’s players were reporting to training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph — we learned that the Chiefs had started with the former Purdue pass rusher, giving him a four-year extension worth up to $93 million in new money.
Speaking to reporters shortly after the news had broken, head coach Andy Reid praised general manager Brett Veach and his staff for making the two deals happen.
“[Assistant general manager] Chris Shea and the guys have to work through all of that — the money part of it — and they do a heck of a job with it,” noted Reid. “It’s an ongoing thing. You’ve got to have a good feel [and] a good plan for the future as you do it.”
It also helps that Karlaftis has turned out to be precisely the kind of player Kansas City was hoping to obtain with 2022’s 30th pick.
“He’s smart [and] relentless,” said Reid. “He’s reliable. You can trust that he’s going to be there, do the right things and go 100 miles an hour doing them. He’s very well respected.”
Smith, of course, was selected with a much later pick in the 2021 draft. Because of a medical condition that had been diagnosed during his sophomore year at the University of Tennessee, he was still available after the fifth round. Four years later, he’s considered to be among the league’s top guards.
“How great is that?” asked Reid. “[A] sixth-round pick. He came in with the lung situation — the blood clots. It was a great thing he was able to work through that just for his overall health — football or no football — but to be able to come in and play at the level he’s played at and that toughness he brings with it? He’s an aggressive personality on the field — a teddy bear off the field — but he brings it every game.”
Social media to make you think
George Karlaftis enters the Top for edge rusher salaries https://t.co/nrkqyDRXC1 pic.twitter.com/T9ymLtg7U1
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) July 20, 2025
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