Kansas City Chiefs' mounting training camp injured player list could end one key roster battle earlier than anticipated

The Kansas City Chiefs have a mounting injury situation to keep an eye on at training camp because it could impact a key roster battle that has nothing to do with the specific injuries taking place.

According to media members in attendance at practice, the Chiefs' injury list multiplied on Tuesday. Three players who missed practice on Monday — TE Jake Briningstool (hamstring), CB Kristian Fulton (knee), and CB Darius Rush (hamstring) — were joined by rookie LB Jeff Bassa, S Deon Bush, and CB Eric Scott Jr. on the sidelines on Tuesday. We'll get updates from Chiefs HC Andy Reid on the severity of these injuries after practice, but the team now has six players absent from practice out of 91 players.

The team is specifically getting thin at the defensive back position with Fulton, Rush, Bush, and Scott Jr. all sitting out of practice. Brett Veach might be forced to bring in some extra bodies to distribute snaps during the course of a given training camp practice evenly. That's exactly the situation that Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub feared when it came to one position battle he's currently working through at training camp.

Injuries might make Chiefs' training camp punter battle a victim

Speaking about the timeline for the punter battle on July 25, Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub mentioned that it might not be up to him. He'd like to see it go for as long as it can, but when injuries mount, the need for two punters on the 90-man offseason roster lessens.

“That’ll come down – like (General Manager Brett) Veach might hit me up, like ‘Hey, you know, where are we going,’ because we’re always – because right now we don’t have any injuries, knock (on) wood, I mean we don’t have anything serious, we don’t have to bring anyone in from the outside," Toub said. "As soon as that happens, you've got 90 guys you've got to work with, and sometimes you've got to make decisions. Sometimes that issue gets pressed a little bit, but right now, we don’t have to rush on it.”

Should the Chiefs suffer more injuries, specifically at the defensive back position, Toub might have to rush that decision before the preseason even gets here. That rushed decision might lead to Matt Araiza remaining as the team's punter for the 2025 NFL season unless Eddie Czaplicki has made marked improvements over the last four days since Toub spoke to the media.

"As far as the punters go, it’s a good competition. I think we have two NFL punters; I said that during the offseason. I still believe it. Matt (Matt Araiza) has come in right now, and he’s probably got the edge over these first few days," Toub said. "But I expect, you know, just because it was new for Eddie (Eddie Czaplicki) with all the fans and everything, and I think Eddie will get better next week. But it’s a real competition, and obviously we’re gonna take it into the games and see who prevails on that thing."