The Morning Fix: Chiefs News From Around The Web

It’s been 272 days since Charles last wore a helmet and lined up in Kansas City’s backfield. He’s been regulated to strength and agility work on a side field throughout all of this offseason’s OTAs and minicamp practice as he continues to rehab the left knee that gave way in Detroit.

But to Charles, the layoff doesn’t matter. He doesn’t just expect to be ready for the start of training camp some six weeks from now. Charles believes he could play in a game if one were scheduled for today.

“I’m fixed and I’m just going to let my body go,” Charles declared following Wednesday’s minicamp practice. “I’m just going to play crazy and play wild. I’m not holding back anything because I’m fixed.

“The big thing is you have to be committed to it, from the quarterbacks willing to carry out the fakes to receivers willing to go in and dig out the safeties to make 6-yard plays into 16-yard plays,” said Winston, signed by the Chiefs in March to be their starting right tackle. “There’s no turning back. You’ve got to be fully committed to it. If guys don’t want to commit to it, they don’t need to be here. That’s the way we were in Houston.”

For some reason, it was regarded by some in the assembled media as noteworthy that unsigned first-round defensive tackle Dontari Poe was taking part in the minicamp.

Asked one writer of coach Romeo Crennel: ”Dontari Poe is out there when he doesn’t have to be, does that say something about that young guy?”

“It says he wants to make the team,” Crennel said.

“Yeah, he’s a veteran coach that knows what he’s doing. He expects a lot from us. From the older guys, he wants our leadership to progress and get better. With him as the coach everything is structured. We’re not guessing where we’ve got to be, we’re not coming in with a different schedule or the schedule is changing. We know where we’ve got to be every day and that way it works for us as players and we know what it takes. He’s not giving up. He’s making sure that we’re working hard and that’s what’s important.”