ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes is bringing along a TV to training camp at Missouri Western for the first time in his NFL career.
Two reasons: He wants to watch the upcoming Paris Olympics and play the new EA Sports College Football 25 video game.
Whether there is time for any of that remains to be seen. Mahomes joined rookies and select veterans in reporting to camp on Tuesday, a little more than five months after they beat the 49ers for their second consecutive Super Bowl. And with their eye on a record third straight Lombardi Trophy, the two-time league MVP knows the foundation for February begins in late July.
“Every season starts different,” Mahomes said, shortly after pulling into the parking lot of the Division II school and carrying his backpack up to his dorm room. “You’ve got to come in with that same mentality you had the year before, even a higher intensity, and even though we won that Super Bowl last year, we didn’t play our best football.”
Indeed, the Chiefs were a team reeling following a Christmas Day loss to the rival Raiders. But they managed to hit their stride when the new year rolled around, and they survived a brutal route through the playoffs - beating the Dolphins at home in one of the coldest games in NFL history, then triumphing in trips to Buffalo and Baltimore.
Then came Feb. 11, the most recent time the Chiefs stepped on the field for a game, when they rallied to beat San Francisco in overtime.
“Obviously the end result was awesome,” Mahomes said, “but I mean, I think a lot of us have a weird feeling. I mean, we really didn’t really play football the way we wanted to play all year long, and it wasn’t fun. I mean, every single week having to try to get better and the results not paying off the way you wanted them to. It wasn’t a lot of fun.
“We have a lot of those same guys back,” Mahomes continued, “and they know how that felt. So we’re going to try to prepare ourselves better this year so that we can play better throughout the season.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he hasn’t had to remind his team about the many pitfalls of last season. Rather, he wants his team - including the veterans, who report Friday - to turn their attention toward an entirely new season.
“I think we all know in the NFL, every year is its own year,” Reid said. “We’ve said that every year along the way here, and so you’ve got to stay on top of your game. You’ve got to practice. You’ve got to go through this, being conditioned, and you’ve got to perform well mentally and physically. So it all start from scratch. Happens over.”
There are certainly storylines to watch during training camp.
Reid said standout left guard Joe Thuney will begin camp on the physically unable to perform list following surgery for a pectoral injury. Defensive back Jaylen Watson (torn labrum), defensive end Charles Omenihu (torn ACL) and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (triceps injury) also will begin on the PUP list, though all are expected back at some point.
“Joe’s doing great, and he’s close,” Reid said. “I don’t think it will be (long) but we’ll see.”
Wide receiver Xavier Worthy, the Chiefs’ first-round pick out of Texas, will be ready for the first practice of camp Wednesday after missing most of the offseason with a hamstring injury. The Chiefs are counting on him to upgrade a wide receiver group that added Hollywood Brown in free agency but could begin the season without Rashee Rice.
Rice, who had a strong rookie season, could face an NFL suspension after he was charged with one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury following a car crash in Dallas.
Rice has acknowledged driving one of the cars involved in the crash, which left four people injured, but there has been little movement on the case.
“I haven’t heard anything up to this point,” Reid said.
Until he does, Reid plans to have Rice practicing with the team at Missouri Western. The Chiefs open the preseason Aug. 10 in Jacksonville and lift the curtain on the NFL’s regular season in primetime Sept. 5 against the Ravens.
“The guys know we had our ups and downs last year,” Reid said. “I just expect, the young guys that were here last year, that they continue to build on what they finished. I thought we finished strong on both sides of the ball and special teams.”
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