The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off their three-day mandatory minicamp on Tuesday with nearly full attendance from their 90-man offseason roster.
Star DT Chris Jones, who also missed all of the team’s voluntary OTAs, was not among the players in attendance for the first mandatory minicamp practice. Jones is entering the final year of a four-year contract extension worth $80M with $60M guaranteed that he signed back in 2020.
It’s unclear if this is a holdout or an excused absence and we won’t hear from Andy Reid until the conclusion of mandatory minicamp on Thursday. If Jones does not report to practice for each of the three days, the Chiefs can fine him nearly $100K total.
According to Arrowhead Pride’s Pete Sweeney, Jones was among six players who were entirely absent from practice. That group includes Blake Bell, Jerick McKinnon and Trey Smith, but it’s still unclear why that trio is absent from practice. They could be excused or they could be dealing with injuries. Tershawn Wharton (ACL) and Isiah Pacheco (Hand/Labrum) were also absent from practice as they recover from injuries suffered last season.
Three players were spotted at practice on the sidelines without their helmets — S Mike Edwards, CB Trent McDuffie and CB L’Jarius Sneed. That is consistent with their status during the course of OTAs. They each seem to be dealing with some sort of injury at this time and the team is being cautious with how quickly they bring them back.
