Why Chiefs Don’t Participate in Joint Preseason Practices

Over the next seven weeks, 29 NFL teams will engage in joint practices during their preseason preparations – starting Aug. 5 when Indianapolis visits Baltimore’s training camp, and the Rams make the short bus ride for meaningful reps with the Cowboys in Oxnard, Calif. Last year, 30 clubs held joint practices with at least one opponent.

The Kansas City Chiefs are not members of that club.

Head coaches generally schedule joint practices once they have a good idea of their preseason game schedules, subscribing to the theory that they can better protect their starters in scripted snaps, rather than live game action, and gain more impactful groundwork against another club in a practice environment. But those coaches know not to contact Andy Reid.

Reid said last summer the reason the Chiefs don’t believe in scheduling joint practices essentially boils down to one thing: Kansas City’s new schemes and concepts are none of your business.

“The way we go about it,” he told reporters at the beginning of training camp last summer, courtesy of Arrowhead Pride, “I think we go fast, we practice hard, we do that amongst ourselves, and the guys challenge each other. I don’t think there’s a better way to do it if you guys are willing to do that. Our guys are up for that challenge.

“Plus, you’re not giving things away — you can’t help but do that. And you’re not having those skirmishes that you get in some of these intersquad deals. No matter how much you talk, still, if you put on a different uniform, you’re the enemy. It doesn’t matter if it’s joint practices or not.”

Indeed, fights during joint practices have reared their ugly heads, including a memorable clash between Aaron Donald and the Bengals’ offensive line in 2022.

And now that the Chiefs finally have Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy and Isiah Pacheco healthy at the same time, they can keep any wrinkles they’ve devised under wraps until their season-opening game in Brazil against their AFC West rival, the Chargers.

So, there’ll be no joint practices against preseason opponents Arizona (Aug. 9), Seattle (Aug. 15) or Chicago (Aug. 22). That also means the Chiefs won’t “give anything away” with their plans on the left side of the offensive line.

Will rookie Josh Simmons start that opener at left tackle against the Chargers, or will free agent Jaylon Moore get that assignment? Will Moore supplant Jawaan Taylor at right tackle, and who will start at left guard, incumbent Mike Caliendo or former tackle Kingsley Suamataia?

The Chiefs don’t have to divulge answers to any of those questions until Sept. 5. Until then, everything on preseason film is vanilla.

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