Chiefs coach Andy Reid says WR Rashee Rice and LT Josh Simmons are ready for training camp
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid expects to have wide receiver Rashee Rice and first-round draft pick Josh Simmons fully available when the Kansas City Chiefs report to training camp at Missouri Western State University the last full week of July.
Rice is coming off a torn ACL that limited him to four games last season, while Simmons tore a patellar tendon last season with Ohio State, which likely caused the left tackle's draft stock to slide far enough for the Chiefs to pick him No. 32 overall.
'I think they're both ready to go,' Reid said after putting his players through a final conditioning test Thursday, which wrapped up three days of mandatory minicamp. 'They actually got great work in these camps here.'
The Chiefs had hoped that Rice would become the centerpiece of a revamped offense last season, and he was trending that way with 24 catches for 288 yards and two TDs through three games. But early in the fourth, after Patrick Mahomes had thrown an interception, the QB collided with Rice as they were trying to make a tackle in a game against the Chargers.
The injury wound up being devastating for Kansas City, which had already lost No. 2 wide receiver Marquise Brown to a shoulder injury on the first play of the preseason, which ultimately kept him out until the stretch run.
The Chiefs wound up relying more heavily than they would have liked on then-first-round pick Xavier Worthy, who emerged as a breakout star. He led Chiefs wide receivers with 59 catches for 638 yards and all players with six TD receptions.
Now, Rice and Brown are healthy again, and a more experienced Worthy suddenly gives Kansas City three top wide receivers. And with the return of a trimmed-down tight end Travis Kelce for his 13th season in the NFL, the Chiefs believe the pieces are in place to push their formerly high-flying offense back among the best in the NFL.
'That's the goal. You want to be the top offense in the league when you step in the building every day. But at the end of the day, you want to win the Super Bowl,' Mahomes said. 'Our goal is to do whatever we can to win the football game, and hopefully for us, that's being the top offense to go with the defense we have.'
Simmons could play a big part in that, and not just because he is 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds.
The Chiefs struggled mightily at left tackle last season, where second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia was benched and second-year pro Wanya Morris fared little better. The Chiefs eventually resorted to pushing standout left guard Joe Thuney to tackle and using Mike Caliendo in his place at guard, but they likewise struggled in their Super Bowl loss to the Eagles.
The Chiefs traded Thuney to the Bears earlier in the offseason, a move made largely for financial reasons. That opened up a spot at guard, and Caliendo and Suamataia are expected to compete for that starting role once training camp begins.
As for left tackle, Reid seemed to indicate that Simmons would be his preferred choice to lock down the job.
'Listen, you can see his athletic ability. You can see his want-to,' Reid said. "He approached everything the right way, plus a little extra. You can look at his rehab and he had a mindset of, 'I'm going to get in there. It's not going to be training camp. It's going to be now.' He worked his tail off to get in there, and you respect that part. He's done a nice job in there.
'We'll see,' Reid added. 'We'll see what training camp does to him. It's different when things are flying up there.'
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