Chiefs news: Wanya Morris, Lucas Niang, injury updates and more

Here's all the latest from Tuesday's practice sessions at St. Joseph for Chiefs training camp.

The battle at left tackle was expected to be a primary competition for the Kansas City Chiefs in training camp before the '24 season and that's proving to be true so far during the first few days in St. Joseph.

Last year, the Chiefs pitted rookie versus veteran with the veteran never really relinquishing his hold on the left tackle role until injury forced Donovan Smith to give up his starting role to Wanya Morris in the second half of last season. While Smith is still a free agent, the Chiefs are giving Morris and this year's second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia a chance to compete for the blindside protector role.

In the first days of camp, Morris and Suamataia were taking turns in front of Mahomes in practice in team drills, but Morris held off the BYU product on Tuesday and got a full range of reps on the left side. Andy Reid praised him while noting the limited meaning of it all. "He's done a nice job. Everything is kind of pass. You're not doing a ton of running here, but for what we're asking him to do, he's doing a nice job."

There's a long way to go for either player to win the job and it's entirely possible the team calls on an outsider to solve their concerns if neither prospect looks the part. But if Morris is doing enough to win the job for now, thats a good start to a competitive mix that will hopefully yield the best results from both players.

Lucas Niang gets positional switch

Lucas Niang has been one of the quietest members of the Kansas City Chiefs over the last couple of years—and that's not a good thing.

Over the last two seasons, Niang has found a way to hang around the Chiefs' active roster but he's been bypassed by vets and rookies alike on the depth chart. After opting out of his original rookie season due to COVID, Niang debuted a year later in 2021 and generated some buzz but a devastating injury robbed him of his sophomore season. Ever since, the third-rounder has been relegated to the bench.

This year, Niang looked like he was destined to back up Jawaan Taylor at right tackle once again as he finished up his rookie contract, but on Tuesday, he could be seen taking the snaps typically given to left guard Joe Thuney with the first team, per Arrowhead Pride's Pete Sweeney.

Thuney is currently out with a pectoral injury and others are taking their turns spelling him early in training camp. And while it's early in camp without pads on or anything, it's quite positive to see Niang getting looks at another position. Maybe it means he's feeling better than ever and showing some greater value at a pivotal point in his career.

B.J. Thompson still not ready

Speaking of injured players, second-year pass rusher B.J. Thompson endured the scariest moment of the offseason for the Chiefs when he was rushed away from the team's facilities via ambulance after suffering a seizure and cardiac arrest during offseason training activities. No timeline has been given for Thompson's potential return, but it's not surprising to see the Chiefs taking it slowly with the former fifth-round pick.

Andy Reid spoke up following practice and said that Thompson was watching in attendance during camp on Tuesday but that he's not ready yet. You gotta believe the team is taking every precaution here, and we're hoping with them that Thompson is able to better understand what happened in the first place and to take care of himself for the long term.