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After four full-team practices for the Kansas City Chiefs to begin training camp last week, it is now time for iron to sharpen iron.
The full pads will be on Chiefs players at camp starting Monday, and it will be the start of another ramp-up period to the full-length practices we’re accustomed to in St. Joe, according to head coach Andy Reid during a press conference last week. “We kick back just a notch, a couple of minutes there.”
Five Observations from Saturday’s Practice | Chiefs Training Camp
8/1 | Chiefs.com
4. The “ramp up” to padded practices is now complete.
The league-mandated process of “easing” into padded practices is now complete following Saturday’s session, setting the stage for the first padded practice of training camp on Monday morning.
It’s obviously a major benchmark in the Chiefs’ preparation for the upcoming season, and keep in mind – due to league rules – Monday will mark the first time that Kansas City takes the field in pads since last season ended. The entirety of the offseason training program was limited to non-padded practices, meaning the true evaluation of certain position groups – notably the linemen on both sides of the ball – can really begin on Monday.
“Any time you have a rookie — everybody’s on special teams until they aren’t,” Toub said. “Until they establish themselves as a starter on offense or defense, and then we have to kind of pull back and maybe take them off of two or three phases. But initially, everybody starts off as a four-phase guy, and that’s just the way we do it.
It’s worked over the years, and it’s hard to keep a guy off just because he was drafted high and all of a sudden try to pull him back and make him a special teams player later. So you start off that way, and then you wean him off the special teams as you go.”
Hurkett originally joined the team as one of 20 undrafted free agents to sign following the 2026 NFL Draft. Hurkett was released following the team’s rookie minicamp. However, with a season-ending ACL injury for DE/LB Ethan Downs and a hamstring injury for DE Ashton Gillotte, Hurkett now gets another shot.
The 24-year-old Hurkett is listed at 6-foot-3 and 259 pounds, boasting inside/outside flexibility from the edge rusher position. He recorded 92 total tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles over the past two seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Kansas City Chiefs 2026 Season Preview: Odds, Roster, and Predictions | RG
Final outlook
Everything for Kansas City in 2026 flows through Mahomes’ recovery. The early signs from camp, an accelerated rehab timeline and full participation in team drills, are encouraging, and the addition of Kenneth Walker III gives the offense a more balanced identity than it’s had in years. The defense is betting heavily on youth around Chris Jones, with Delane and Woods needing to develop quickly. If Mahomes is truly ready for Week 1 and the young defenders take the expected step forward, Kansas City has the pieces to erase last year’s disappointment and get back into the AFC’s championship picture.
“You’re never going to replace that guy with just one person,” Bolton said. “The energy he has on the team and in the building, also on the football field. You see his effort on field goal blocks and defensive plays. He goes and plays three-tech for us sometimes, he blitzes, plays a little bit of coverage, a little bit of everything — special teams as well.
It’s going to be all hands on deck. I think they’re trying to find guys that can mimic the things he does well, but obviously he was a great player for us.”
Around the NFL
Pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney reaches deal to reunite with Texans | ESPN
Clowney confirmed a report by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo that he had agreed to a contract with the Texans, telling the Houston Chronicle that he has “grown up and learned the game a lot more since” last playing with Houston in 2018.
“I feel like I can help the younger guys. I’ve learned how to lead and what it takes to get to a Super Bowl. I feel like I can help this team,” he told the newspaper.
Saints place 2024 second-round WR Ja’Lynn Polk on Reserve/Retired list | NFL.com
He then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during New England’s training camp in August 2025. A few weeks later, the Patriots traded Polk and a 2028 seventh-round pick to the Saints in exchange for a 2027 sixth-round selection.
The goal was to rehab and bounce back in Year 3 in a fresh environment.
Instead, Polk has made the decision to hang it up.
After taking coaching job at Georgia Tech, DeAndre Hopkins says he isn’t retired | Pro Football Talk
“I haven’t retired from the NFL,” Hopkins posted Saturday on Twitter, via Andy Backstrom of Yahoo Sports. “But if you’re a WR and you want to be great, come to Georgia Tech football.”
Hopkins, 34, is keeping himself busy as he waits for another opportunity.
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Chiefs training camp: All eyes are on Xavier Worthy’s durability
On Saturday, Worthy had a strong practice, catching at least two tough, downfield passes from Mahomes. After the second, Worthy reportedly left the field with a designation for his shoulder, but all signs point to the rest being closer to precautionary than worrisome.
But it’s not just Go and Post routes Worthy is working on refining; it’s his entire route tree. He explained to the media that due to his hurt shoulder, he was limited in the way he could play last season.
“Last year was kind of hard to look at [because] my routes kind of got changed,” Worthy told reporters. “I couldn’t run a lot of the things that I would normally run and couldn’t run it in the way that I would want to.”
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