By MATT PIKE
Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp is nearing its end in St. Joseph, but jumping back to the start of camp, there was the big news of the signing of two players.
The Chiefs extended the contract of George Karlaftis and signed Trey Smith to a new four year deal.
Assistant General Manager Chris Shea, who was part of getting those deals done, says it was huge to make sure the team got those new contracts completed
“Zooming out to the big picture, one of the of the core operating principals we have that (Brett) Veach has adopted as the General Manager here. goes all the way up to ownership, is that we want to draft well and retain our own players to the maximum extent possible that’s feasible within our constraints,” Shea tells reporters following practice. “We were very happy to get both of those guys done as important starters on both offense and defense.”
Shea would not speak however on how close the team is to getting a new deal done for cornerback Trent McDuffie, but emphasized again the importance of keeping a player like that on the team.
During Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp, fans have seen the battle raging along the offensive line.
Trying to find the best five guys to protect Patrick Mahomes has been a key focus during this camp in St. Joseph, and the most talked about battle on the team.
Offensive Line Coach Andy Heck says this has probably been one of the best years of competition among guys along the line, and that talent can stem to the guys beyond the starting five
“When you talk about the eighth, ninth, and 10th spot, there’s a lot of competition going on and there’s still a lot more to be done there in terms of evaluation, those preseason games are going to be huge,” Heck explains. “So, whose operating and grading out, basically getting their guy blocked, the most consistently, who do we trust to put in there on a Sunday or Monday night?”
The Chiefs saw a dip in sacks last year, and hope to emphasize getting to the quarterback more this season.
Defensive line coach Joe Cullen feels they have the guys to do that with what he’s seen during Chiefs Training Camp
“When you look at the two years we won the Super Bowl, and Spags (defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) is creative as it comes in terms of getting to the quarterback, we have guys who can get to the quarterback, and we had like 57 0r 60 two years in a row and we dipped a bit last year, but we picked it up at the end of the regular season and into the playoffs,” Cullen says.
Cullen says what they need to do a better job of this year however is not letting the quarterback get out of the pocket, saying his line got to the quarterback plenty last season but couldn’t finish, but so far, he’s seen a better job of that this season.
The Chiefs have just one more practice left in St. Joseph, welcoming in the military tomorrow for an 8:15 practice at Missouri Western State University.
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