KC Reporter

The Kansas City Chiefs held their ninth training camp practice on Friday morning as the team continued preparations for the upcoming NFL season. The session, conducted in cooler 64-degree weather, allowed players to practice in pads after several days of higher temperatures.

"They caught a break with the weather today," said Head Coach Andy Reid. "It was nice and cool for them, and they were flying around. It was good to see both sides of the ball making plays. There was great competition going on, and when you do that, you start improving. That's the objective in this thing: get a little bit better every day."

During practice, the Chiefs worked through a scenario simulating a drive downfield with only 90 seconds left on the clock. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce for a significant gain before finding Noah Gray for a touchdown later in the drill. On defense, cornerback Kevin Knowles broke up a deep pass, while quarterback Bailey Zappe completed a sizable pass to wide receiver Elijhah Badger.

Before practice began, Kansas City added three new players: defensive backs Ajani Carter and Azizi Hearn, along with wide receiver Key'Shawn Smith. Carter joined as an undrafted rookie from Houston, having played over 450 snaps last season and leading his college team in pass breakups. Hearn entered the league in 2023 as an undrafted free agent with Las Vegas and has since spent time on multiple teams' practice squads. Smith arrived after recording 33 catches for 527 yards and five touchdowns at SMU last year; he initially signed with Las Vegas following this year's draft.

To make room on the roster, cornerbacks Darius Rush and Eric Scott were waived with injury designations.

The Chiefs' starters also participated in a lengthy 14-play "long drive drill" meant to simulate real game conditions by limiting substitutions and downtime between plays. Mahomes made notable throws during this period to Rashee Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Defensively, linebacker Drue Tranquill intercepted a pass over the middle, while defensive tackle Chris Jones disrupted another play for what would have been a sack.

In other drills, rookie linebacker Jeffrey Bassa recorded an interception after missing earlier practices due to injury. Cornerback Chris Roland-Wallace also had an interception during seven-on-seven work. Running back Carson Steele made a contested catch amid tight coverage during these drills.

Several players missed Friday's session due to injuries: wide receivers Hollywood Brown (ankle) and Skyy Moore (hamstring), cornerback Kristian Fulton (knee), tight end Jake Briningstool (hamstring), and safety Deon Bush (hamstring). Linebacker Drue Tranquill left early because of a back issue.

Coach Reid provided an update on wide receiver Xavier Worthy: "It ended up not being a concussion. We had both the NFL and our docs involved with [him] clearing [protocol]," Reid said. "He had a little liquid in his ear, and they took care of that. It was throwing off his equilibrium just a bit."

The Chiefs are scheduled to return for their tenth training camp practice on Saturday.