Kansas City Chiefs: Five intriguing storylines from training camp
Tyreek Hill’s hamstring injury
For a team that struggled with injuries in 2019, involving a number of their best players, the news that Tyreek Hill sustained a hamstring injury was ill-received by Chiefs Kingdom. Hill missed four games last season with a collarbone injury, and the offense was definitely less efficient at times without their number-one receiver.
Fortunately, Hill’s injury is not deemed to be serious. After being listed as day-to-day, a designation that has given Chiefs fans heart palpitations in the past, Hill reportedly returned to practice on Monday.
The minor-injury situation will be an interesting one to watch this season, not just for the Chiefs but for the NFL as a whole. The lack of a normal offseason and the separation of players from their teams’ training staff could presumably lead to a rash of minor injuries early on in the season.
Hamstring injuries are traditionally ones that can linger. While Hill seems fine, and the team can conceivably weather losing him for a short stint, it will be something to keep an eye on early on in the season.
The health of Ricky Seals-Jones
At 6’5″ and 243 pounds, with the ability to run a sub-4.7 second 40-yard dash, Ricky Seals-Jones presents an interesting option for Andy Reid‘s mind and the Kansas City Chiefs offense. While he’s been fairly unproductive throughout his career, in three seasons with two teams catching 60 balls for 777 yards and eight touchdowns, he’s never played for Andy Reid and had a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes.
The team’s primary weapon at tight end is and will be Travis Kelce for the foreseeable future. However, if Seals-Jones can produce simply at his career average he’d be the most productive option at backup tight end that the team has had since Andy Reid began his tenure. If Andy Reid can improve Seals-Jones by simply utilizing him more effectively, it may create some new schematic wrinkles the team hasn’t been able to leverage to this point.
Unfortunately, Seals-Jones was carted off the field during last Monday’s practice with a leg injury. While he has reportedly returned it will be something to watch. Seals-Jones has the athletic ability to provide a boost off the bench, so hopefully the leg injury doesn’t create any lingering problems.