Kader Kohou is in a much better place than he was a year ago. Some of that has to do with his new team, the Kansas City Chiefs, while much of it is his ability to actually participate in training camp again after suffering a season-ending injury last summer.
The Chiefs signed Kohou to a one-year, $1.81 million deal in March after trading Trent McDuffie and losing Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams in free agency. Kohou started 38 games (and played in 47) in his first three seasons with the Dolphins before tearing his ACL in training camp last year, an injury that cost him the entirety of the 2025 campaign.
Three days into his first Chiefs camp, Kohou spoke to the media about the fact that the knee injury is no longer a concern and the reason why he's very happy to be in Kansas City.
"You could tell they got a great culture here and stuff like that. I knew some of the guys that were already on the team before, so having talks with them, I just... I like everything I was hearing," Kohou said Thursday at St. Joseph, mentioning that he'd met Chris Jones and knew others from around the league.
The former Dolphins cornerback spoke about returning from a season lost to injury and the reason he chose Kansas City in free agency.
When asked about his recovery, Kohou said, "I think the most challenging was like the earlier parts when I couldn't walk and do the normal stuff I'm used to doing. I kind of learned a lot about myself, and it kind of made me go like a little more love for football and cherish it a little more because it can get taken away anytime."
The six weeks off before OTAs helped, he said, and a full year out from surgery, he feels good. As for shaking off the rust in coverage, "It's like riding a bike."
Kohou's spot is not without questions. Any veteran on a cheaper one-year deal isn't a given for 53-man roster projections, and while Kohou is healthy, he's still fighting for slot corner reps in a room that got crowded in a hurry. The Chiefs spent a fourth-round pick on Oregon prospect Jadon Canady and still have Chris Roland-Wallace, who has earned first-team reps early in camp.
Kohou has faced this sort of roster math before. "I think we're all competing going into training camp every year. They bring guys in, and guys leave," Kohou said. "So if you lose that competitive edge, I think that's the quickest way to get your way out the NFL."
Kohou said he can play more than the slot if Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo wants him elsewhere, and that learning the defense has been its own test. "He's gonna challenge the hell out of you. He knows a lot about football, and he's very attentive to details, and he demands that from his players."
Ultimately, Kohou can only control so much, which is why he's focused on taking advantage of the opportunity and the chance to return healthy after a full year away. "Whatever they need me, I feel I can play. I'll leave that up to him, wherever he sees me fit."
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