Kansas City

Chiefs

Johnson has played 551 defensive snaps in his career, with 550 coming in 2024. PFF credits him with six forced incompletions. Johnson will likely serve as a special teams player if he makes the Titans’ final roster. He earned a 62.5 PFF special teams grade on 26 qualifying snaps last year.

Walker has been working hard to improve his receiving skills and pass protection this offseason. As long as he refines this area of his game, he has a chance to operate as the Chiefs’ clear-cut featured running back, though the position group is full of capable receiving backs. What does not seem to be in question is that Walker will handle an immense rushing workload. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said in May that the team hopes to establish the run early on this season. An ESPN report from June revealed that the Chiefs were beginning to tailor the run game around Walker’s strengths. Super Bowl LX’s MVP is a locked-in RB1 with enticing upside.

It appears as though Rice’s 30-day jail stay did not negatively impact his recovery from the cleanup procedure he underwent in May. The 26-year-old wide receiver is immensely talented, yet off-field concerns have kept the Chiefs’ front office from signing him to an extension this offseason. If he can stay healthy and focused this summer and turn in a highly productive season, he could end up earning a substantial payday in Kansas City or in free agency next offseason. Chiefs veterans report for training camp on July 28th.

Mahomes kept the good news under wraps. He was apparently cleared to practice two days ago. A recent report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicated Mahomes was hoping to participate in 11-on-11 drills when veterans report for training camp on July 28th with the goal of ultimately suiting up in the preseason before playing in Week 1. The Chiefs’ superstar quarterback is seemingly on track to do so. As far as his playing style goes, Mahomes said he plans to do “everything” that he did before, while acknowledging that he ran the ball more often that he would prefer to last year.

Fowler notes that Mahomes was mostly limited to 7-on-7 work during spring practices, as he recovers from two ligament tears in his left knee. The Chiefs will be “cautious” with Mahomes’ reps, and he has not yet been cleared to participate in 11-on-11 drills. Mahomes always prefers to take live reps in preseason play. If he can do so, one assumes he would be a near-lock to play in Week 1 against the Broncos, and Fowler says that the Chiefs “have been leaning into this Week 1 possibility.” Check back in the coming days to find out if Mahomes is indeed cleared for team drills next week. Chiefs veterans report for training camp on July 28th.

Mahomes is rehabbing ahead of schedule after a torn ACL/LCL ended his 2025 season. If all goes according to plan, it will be just under a nine-month recovery for him, which is on the quicker end of most ACL/LCL recover anticipated timelines. Rapoport reports Mahomes has been spending “seven hours or so in the building rehabbing as much as humanly possible.” It’s still an awfully optimistic timeline but Mahomes is targeting a Week 1 return and it “certainly does seem like Mahomes is on track to be on the field Week 1", according to Rapoport.

Moving on from Jones would save the Chiefs $28.35 million in 2027 cap space, and while he’s still clearly an upper-echelon defensive tackle, the Chiefs did just draft Peter Woods in the first round. Jones managed just seven sacks last year and was left off the All-Pro teams for the first time since 2019. He’s entering his age-32 season in 2026.

Mahomes is well ahead of the normal ACL/LCL rehab timeline, as Breer notes, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Chiefs remained cautious with Mahomes in training camp and didn’t necessarily throw him in 11-on-11 settings the second he was first cleared. Still, it does seem like Mahomes is in pretty good shape to start Week 1 from all early offseason indications. It’ll just be a matter of how quickly the Chiefs and Mahomes want to push it.

In a lengthy report on Walker’s acclimation to his new team, Taylor explores the ways in which Chiefs coach Andy Reid, RB coach Eric Bieniemy and OL coach Andy Heck are tinkering with different run concepts. Walker prefers running the ball when the quarterback is under center, rather than in shotgun, and the Chiefs led the league in yards per play (8.3) back in 2022, the final season of Bieniemy’s stint as their offensive coordinator. He spent 2025 as the Bears’ running backs coach and is expected to implement the “clever shifts, motions and counter-attacking runs” he learned from coach Ben Johnson. Taylor notes that Walker is diligently working on his pass protection and receiving abilities, noting that in the two practices open to reporters, Walker has caught every pass thrown by QBs Patrick Mahomes and Justin Fields. Walker’s “speed and vision” on a “sophisticated screen pass” elicited cheers from his teammates. This is a positive update on Walker’s quest to be a “feature back” in Kansas City.

Newell said Worthy would have been “the likely winner” of a hypothetical “Team MVP” award for the practices if such a thing existed. This should all be taken with a grain of salt, as Worthy was sporting a no-contact jersey during the sessions while continuing to recover from a torn labrum, but even head coach Andy Reid said Worthy “really had a nice camp” at the conclusion of minicamp on Thursday. Worthy has struggled to live up to the hype that made him the No. 28 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, with injuries, missed throws, and ill-timed drops combining to make for a challenging start. Despite this, the Chiefs and fantasy managers remain hopeful that Worthy can take another step in 2026. Reid said Worthy did well in camp when the team put him “in a lot of primary positions,” which will hopefully lead to an expanded role this season, especially if Rashee Rice is suspended to start the year. Worthy is currently going around the ninth round in fantasy drafts and has averaged 5.5 targets/gm for his career. An increased workload could put him in the discussion as a potential top-36 receiver in PPR leagues.