The Kansas City Chiefs have a new player protecting Patrick Mahomes’ blindside during training camp.
Through the first two days of practice, fifth-year NFL veteran Roderick Johnson is filling in at left tackle. Franchise-tagged starter Orlando Brown Jr. continues to stay away from training camp amidst a contract dispute, but the team won’t put things on hold without him. Instead, they’ve been proceeding with Johnson, who enters his first year with Kansas City in 2022.
Andy Reid praised Johnson for his work during the offseason program. After several weeks of working beside him, Chiefs starting LG Joe Thuney has also come away impressed with what he’s seen from Johnson.
“Yeah, for sure, he’s doing really well,” Thuney told reporters on Thursday. “Digging in the playbook and communicating a lot. Just trying to be on the same page every play. You know, he’s a great guy. Yeah, so he’s just trying to get better every day.”
The former fifth-round draft pick, Johnson, has three career starts at left tackle with the Houston Texans in 2020. There had been some talk of Thuney potentially sliding over to guard in Orlando Brown Jr.’s absence. While Thuney says he’ll play wherever the coaches ask, he seemed quite uncomfortable with the line of questioning.
“You know, whatever the coaches want me to play, I’m willing to play,” Thuney said. “I just like to play football, it doesn’t matter where. Just want to be out there on the field with the guys. That’s kind of the bottom line. Anywhere, I just want to play.”
It’s safe to assume that for now, Thuney will throw his support behind Johnson at the left tackle spot as long as Brown Jr. is away from the team. Should the team need him to fill in, he’ll be ready to do so.
