The injury scare for rookie wide receiver Cyrus Allen during Saturday's training camp practice sent a shiver down the spine of Chiefs Kingdom. It also shone a spotlight on the team's preseason processes, inviting further scrutiny as to whether or not "business as usual" is the right approach.
The play, and Toub's response
Specifically, if you missed the news, Allen collided with cornerback Kaiir Elam during special teams drills while in the last unpadded camp in St. Joseph. Allen, who has generated the single greatest amount of early camp buzz for the Chiefs, was seen limping off the field and taken away in a cart with his head in his hands. Not only did fans fear the worst for Allen's sake, but the judgments on social media came swiftly as well.
The good news is that Allen should be okay. For all of the hand-wringing within the first few minutes of Allen's departure from the field, the fifth-round choice out of Cincinnati is considered day-to-day, per the Chiefs. It's possible all of this was much ado about nothing, and Chiefs Kingdom is hoping that's the case.
But even after Allen returns, the questions remain. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub met with reporters shortly after the injury and described Allen's practice as a gunner as par for the course.
"Everybody’s on special teams until they aren’t. Until they establish themselves as a starter on offense or defense. Then we have to pull back and maybe take them off two or three phases. But initially, everybody starts off as a four-phase guy, and that’s just the way we do it."
The case, and the counter
It's that last phrase that really irked so many in Chiefs Kingdom. Allen's injury created an emotional ripple effect in everyone for good reason, but for some, it wasn't just concern for his health and fear that he might not be available for the offense. An anger could also be felt online with questions aimed at Toub wondering why they would subject Allen to such a role in the first place.
Allen's emergence as a favored target of Patrick Mahomes early in camp has been the story of St. Joseph in the first week of practices. The Chiefs' dearth of dynamic targets has been a sore spot all offseason (and beyond), with Allen as the only real import throughout free agency and the draft. The Chiefs are insistent that Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton are going to be enough to anchor the passing game, but every single player above Allen on the depth chart comes with concerns about reliability and availability. Allen eased those with his elite separation skills on display at Missouri Western.
The case, stated clearly, is that if Worthy is injury-prone and Rice is mercurial and Thornton is unproven as a workhorse and Jalen Royals is just there, then why would the Chiefs task the brightest offensive spot with practice reps as a gunner? That's a valid question.
At the same time, the Chiefs do what they do for good reason. Dave Toub has been lauded as a special teams coach for longer than so many of these frustrated fans have been alive. Processes become processes because they work.
Even more important is this: no process or new idea can save Cyrus Allen from injury. There's simply no way to guarantee player health. Any rookie wide receiver on any team taken on day three in any draft class is going to find himself on special teams. A collision was responsible for ruining Worthy's season a year ago when he ran into Travis Kelce on the first offensive series of the regular season. That wasn't a gunner rep.
Even if the Chiefs make an exception for Allen, there's no option that keeps him safe. Worthy was on offense. Rookies get hurt in walkthroughs. The frustration is understandable, but the process isn't the problem here (and neither is Toub). Allen should be back on the field soon, gunner reps and all, and some fans will have to make peace with that.
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