‘That’s when real football starts’: Chiefs set to begin padded practices on Monday

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KMIZ)

The 'easiest' days of training camp are almost behind the Kansas City Chiefs, as head coach Andy Reid said that the pads will be coming on on Monday.

"There's a mental and physical fatigue that can set in it," Coach Reid said, when asked about what he can learn about his team in pads. "You got to fight that, so that's what you get with the pads. You know, you get get an idea of where the guys are at and can they answer the bell the next play, the next day and and then stack those days as you go along."

You can watch the full press conference with Big Red in the video player below.

Up until this point, three days into Chiefs training camp, the team has been in a slow, but steady, ramp up period, as each practice has gotten progressively longer. However, there's - obviously - no pads, which means no hitting.

Once full contact comes into practice, that's when the real evaluations of talent can begin.

"That's when real football starts," linebacker Drue Tranquill said. "We can put the jerseys on and run around out here, but it's not a 7-on-7 league and that's when the real football starts. So, it's nice to get out here, you know, get your legs underneath you, get moving, do some football related movements, but next week it's going to get real."

You can watch the full press conference with Tranquill in the video player below.

Just because the pads haven't come on yet, doesn't mean the intensity in camp has been lacking, though. In fact, during Friday's practice, Tranquill went to try to punch the ball out of running back Kenneth Walker III's hands and ended up sending him to the ground. After that, things got a little firey, as Walker III threw the ball in Tranquill's direction.

"Small moment," Tranquill said. "I mean, we're just competing...We're smiling at each other after the play. But, you know we're just making each other better rep-by-rep and, you know, trying to make an emphasis [on defense] this year to get the ball out."

Tranquill added that that kind of intensity and fire can be contagious for the whole team during camp.

"There's a play yesterday in practice where they hit us on another screen and George [Karlaftis] comes from the back side and literally, you know, hunts Kenneth [Walker III] down 25 yards, down the field. You see that on tape, you know, in the afternoon you're like 'dang, man. I gotta give more.' You know, when it's hot and it's humid, it's easy when you're in the air conditioning on the clicker to say, I got to go harder. But, when you're, you know, 16, 25, 30 reps into practice, you know, where is that fire at? Seeing other guys do it certainly helps you bring it."

The linebacker is one of the most veteran leaders on a defense that features of lots of new talent for 2026. From first-round draft pick Mansoor Delane, to signed free agent Alohi Gilman to fourth-rounder Jadon Canady, theres' a lot of pieces that need to come together on coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's unit.

So far, the consensus is that the new guys are picking things up quickly, as Spagnuolo loaded them up with lots of information during OTAs.

"Guys are competing," Tranquill said. "We got a lot of young guys, obviously lost some guys in free agency, but the young guys are competing. The guys who have been here, you know, just continue to set the standard and it's been a good first three days of work."

One of the new players looking to make their mark in camp is cornerback Kader Kohou. He signed with Kansas City in the offseason after missing the entire 2025 season, following an ACL tear in training camp.

Right now, he's fighting for a spot in the KC defensive back room, but that's nothing new for Kohou. He came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent and quickly defied the odds by making the Dolphins' 53-man roster out of training camp in 2022.

Kohou is best-known as a standout slot cornerback, but he said he'll slide into wherever Spagnuolo needs him most.

"Whatever they need me out for, I can play it," he said. "I'll leave that as though. Wherever he sees me fit, but yeah, I feel I can play multiple positions."

You can watch the full press conference with Kohou in the video player below.

Coach Reid also gave an update on one of his new-old returning faces, in cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. He hasn't been fully participating in training camp, as going through a planned rehabilitation and rehab program to help with his ongoing knee condition.

"Just building him up, just going to keep building up. We know it's going to take a little bit of time, [L'Jarius Sneed and Rashee Rice both] haven't much on the conditioning part of it and rehab part of it. So, we know they can play. We want to be smart getting them there and how we go about that," Reid said.

Kansas City will have another day of training camp practice on Saturday, before a well-deserved day off on Sunday.