Dave Toub answers for Kansas City Chiefs WR Cyrus Allen’s injury and 4 more takeaways from Day 4 of training camp practice
The Kansas City Chiefs had a frustrating injury during Day 4 of training camp practice. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub had to answer for that injury after practice.
The Kansas City Chiefs were back on the practice field for a fourth consecutive practice session on Saturday, Aug. 1. The team will break for a day on Sunday, Aug. 2, before returning on Monday, Aug. 1 for their first padded practice session.
During Saturday’s practice, the players dealt with windy conditions. Omarr Norman-Lott remains on the Active/PUP list and is not participating. Mansoor Delane still wore a yellow non-contact jersey. Chiefs DE Ashton Gillotte, who left practice early with a hamstring injury on Friday, was spotted working with the athletic training staff. He wore a compression sleeve on his left leg per KC Star reporter Pete Sweeney.
The Chiefs were also down LB Wesley Bissainthe and K Harrison Butker. Chiefs Digest’s Matt Derrick reported that Butker was absent for personal reasons. Bissainthe, however, seems to be injury-related. Remember, he missed OTAs and mandatory minicamp with an injury.
During practice, Chiefs standout rookie WR Cyrus Allen suffered an injury during punt coverage drills. He was carted off the field, in the front of the cart.
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub answers for Cyrus Allen’s injury
After practice, Kansas City Chiefs STC Dave Toub spoke to reporters about Cyrus Allen’s knee injury. He started off by describing what went wrong on the play.
“Yeah, (Kaiir) Elam was catching the ball,” Toub explained. “He was a gunner. They were both playing gunner, and Elam was catching it. He was clearly there, and (Cyrus) Allen came in. He thought he was catching it, and they collided. I mean, I hate to see somebody get hurt, especially on a special teams drill, and we’ll see how he is.”
Allen spoke to reporters just last week, expressing excitement for his role on special teams. He was asked specifically about return specialist and contributing there.
“Oh yeah, I want to play special teams regardless,” he said. “All four phases.”
By Coach Toub’s account, Allen has been equally a standout special teamer as he was an offensive playmaker.
“Yeah, I mean he’s really doing well on offense, and he’s doing well for me too,” Toub said of Allen. “He’s at gunner, returner, he’s doing a real good job. You know, he’s putting himself in a good position to be a guy that’s going to help us this year.
Toub said he’s not a doctor and he’s keeping his fingers crossed that Allen is alright. He continued to explain how the team decides which players play on special teams and which players don’t play for the unit.
“Anytime you have a rookie, everybody’s on special teams until they aren’t,” Toub said. “You know, until they establish (themselves) as a starter on offense or defense, and then we have to kind of pull back, maybe take them off for two or three phases. But initially, everybody starts off as a four-phase guy, and that’s just the way we do it.”
Asked whether it’d be unusual for a player like Allen to be pulled out of special teams at this point in training camp, Coach Toub had no hesitation in his response.
“Yes,” Toub said. “Yeah. It would be, you know. And (Mansoor) Delane, we pulled him out just being because of the shoulder. You know, the physicality that special teams has on blocking. He has to use his (shoulder), so we take him out of some things there. But other than that, everybody started. Travis Kelce started off on special teams. You know, that’s the way we roll. That’s what we do.”
Kelce is probably not the best example in this situation. His rookie season, he suffered a microfracture injury in his knee on the lone snap he played. That snap came on special teams.
Kahlil Benson continues to get work ahead of Jaylon Moore at right tackle
For the third consecutive practice session, undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson got starting work at right tackle. Jaylon Moore remained at second-team left tackle, while Esa Pole played second-team right tackle. Monday will be the true test for Benson, once the team holds its first padded practice session.
Moore getting work at left tackle doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. That was his best spot during his early career in San Francisco, and the spot he’s played most throughout his career. Pole getting work at right tackle also makes some sense, as he mostly played the left side a season ago in Kansas City.
The question here is whether Benson can keep stacking good practice sessions. So far, the messaging from Coach Reid has been “so far, so good.” He didn’t have as much trouble with Felix Anudike-Uzomah and fellow rookie R Mason Thomas on Day 4 of practice as he did on Day 3. He also handled different stunts and blitzes well during practice, from what I’ve been told.
Xavier Worthy has his best day of Kansas City Chiefs training camp practice yet
Worthy saw a lot of action during Saturday’s practice session. He got some classic gadget-type looks, but he also continued to show positive development in the deep passing game. He had this completion during 11-on-11 near the front pylon:
This comes a day after Worthy told reporters that he’d continue to work on the deep passing game with Patrick Mahomes.
“Yeah, whenever we got the opportunity,” Worthy said of working on the deep passing game. “You know, he was limited in OTAs, so we tried our hardest to work at it, and we’re going to continue working out throughout this camp.”
The team revealed after practice that Worthy left early due to a shoulder injury.
Mansoor Delane starting to hit his stride, despite injured shoulder
Mansoor Delane has been playing one-handed during practice, as he deals with a shoulder injury. He’s had his share of ups and downs, but it felt like he started to hit his stride during practice No. 4. He still can’t press or play as physically as he’d like to, so you’re seeing him succeed in off-coverage and zone coverage looks.
Delane secured his first interception of training camp on Saturday. Patrick Mahomes targeted Travis Kelce, but the wind carried it just a tad too far for his reach. He naturally tried to extend, but tipped the pass right to Delane.
It’s a constant process for the rookies, but this was a positive development for a player who had taken his lumps at practice early on. Monday might see a setback with the pads coming on and Delane still wearing the yellow non-contact jersey. Coach Reid said that jersey would come off eventually, but it’s still unclear how long it’ll be.
Another special guest at Kansas City Chiefs training camp practice on Saturday
Former Chiefs DT Mike Pennel, a Super Bowl LIV champion, was spotted on the sidelines as a guest at practice on Saturday.
It’s notable Pennel is back with the team, given that he played for them just last season. The Chiefs have two open spots on the 90-man roster, so perhaps the visit is something more than a social call? We’ll see how the league views it on the personnel notice later this afternoon.