Some were wondering if Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones was granted a veteran rest day on Sunday, July 28, which would explain why he didn’t participate in training camp practice. But it turns out that, according to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, Jones suffered a groin strain during Saturday’s practice, which sidelined him on Sunday.
“We’ll see. I know he was messing with you guys, but he does have a groin, there. I mean, we all have groins, but he has a sore groin,” Reid said of Jones after Sunday’s practice.
In other injury news, second-year cornerback Nazeeh Johnson missed practice due to a tweaked knee — the same one he had surgery on — and receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire missed Sunday’s session due to being sick.
Big Red did not sound overly concerned with Jones’s tweaked groin. Likely, Jones is simply receiving extra rest to ensure he remains healthy for the start of the regular season.
Despite suffering an injury to the knee that derailed his rookie season, Reid said Johnson is going to be “fine.”
Chris Jones Asked Andy Reid for Veteran Rest Days
With eight NFL seasons under his belt — all of which have been with the Chiefs — every rep in training camp won’t be as meaningful to Jones as it will be for the younger players trying to make a name for themselves. That’s why as he enters his age-30 season Jones asked Big Red for some veteran rest days this summer.
“Listen man, I’ve already been talking to Andy about, ‘Let me skip out on training camp. I’m a little older, right?’” Jones said on June 26 at his youth football camp at Blue Valley Southwest High School in Overland Park via The Kansas City Star. “I can feel it. I can feel when we have a day on training camp. Give me like two days off and one day on then, and we maybe can work something out, you know?”
Jones also noted that when he brought his request up to Reid, his head coach “just looked at me.”
The All-Pro defender also suggested a potential schedule for him this summer.
“If I’m able to do a day on, a day off, or a day on and a half a day (off), I can do that,” Jones said. “I think it’s pretty fun.”
Saturday’s injury to Jones might have Reid thinking long and hard about Jones’s lingering request.
Chiefs Upcoming Schedule
Now that training camp has officially begun for the Chiefs, let’s take a look at the team’s upcoming preseason schedule.
Kansas City’s first preseason game will be on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars and will be played on Saturday, August 10 at 6 p.m. Central Time. The team’s second preseason game will be at home against the Detroit Lions on Saturday, August 18 at 3 p.m. Central Time. The Chiefs’ preseason finale will be at home against the Chicago Bears on Thursday, August 22 at 7:15 p.m. Central Time.
The two-time defending Super Bowl champions will open up the 2024 NFL regular season at home against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, September 5. That game will begin at 7:20 p.m. Central Time and will be available to watch on NBC.
