Mahomes & Worthy Connection, Stadium Update, and more

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Today we bring you a recap of the Chiefs’ first full-team practice, an exciting update on the stadium decision, sad news of a Chiefs Hall of Famer’s passing, NFL headlines, and more.

Go Chiefs!

— Luke Gromer

Chiefs News

The Latest

How we feel about football being back 👇

Yesterday, the Chiefs held their first full-team practice. It was the first of 17 practices open to the public. They will also host two practices exclusively for season ticket members.

Highlights:

• Patrick Mahomes connected with Xavier Worthy on an amazing deep TD pass that will make your jaw drop

• S Justin Reid was added to the non-football injury list and is day-to-day with a quad injury

• Chris Jones said his goal for this season is to win Defensive Player of the Year

• Kadarius Toney was working with the running backs at practice

🎟 Reserve your training camp tickets here.

Last Friday, President Mark Donovan spoke to the media at the annual training camp opening press conference.

Quotes from Donovan on the Stadium

• On moving forward separate from the Royals: Donovan expressed that Clark Hunt and John Sherman (Royals owner) were both in agreement after the failed vote in April that it was best for both teams to proceed forward independently. He emphasized that the organizations still have a good relationship.

• On the STAR Bonds in Kansas: “We appreciate the efforts that the Kansas legislature made to really supercharge STAR bonds to make it make sense for a professional sports team to come over there and take advantage of that. It is consistent with what we've talked about that we want to look at options. It seems, at least my general understanding of it, that this is a really good option for us to consider, so we appreciate that, and we are in discussions with the folks in Kansas.”

• On negotiations with Missouri: “We are in discussions with the folks in Missouri. Talking to various leaders, there seem to be other options that are coming up now on the Missouri side, so we appreciate that and it's consistent with our strategy, which was if this doesn't work which was our plan, then we [have] to look at options, and now we'll have a couple of options to look at. We'll seriously consider all options.”

• The timeline for construction: Donovan noted that the team needs to be finished with whatever they do by January of 2031 in preparation for the 2031 season. He noted that the timeline to complete new construction would be about a year and a half longer than renovating Arrowhead.

• On a timeline for the decision: “We need to get something done in the next 6 months.”

• On the stadium decision: “This is a generational decision. This is going to impact the future of this franchise for generations. We have to get it right. We are going to do the due diligence. We are going to take the time to get it right.”

Other Comments

• On training camp attendance: “We expect the crowds to be record-breaking. So far, the ticket reservations are up 30% over last year, which was a record-breaking year. Back to that fan experience point, we have found that being able to have 5,000 people at a practice is about the sweet spot for us. We could put a lot more through here but we don't think the fan experience would be as good so that's something we strive for.”

• On open practices: “This year, we will have 19 practices open to the public, it’s the most in the NFL.”

• On returning to St. Joe beyond next year: “Why wouldn’t we? It’s been a great partnership… We fully expect to be back.”

Source: Chiefs via YouTube

Former Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs RB Abner Haynes passed away on Thursday, July 18th at the age of 86.

Haynes played for the team from 1960-1964 and is sixth in franchise history with 8,473 career combined yards.

Playing for the then Dallas Texans, Haynes won the Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the AFL’s inaugural season in 1960.

Haynes was on the All-AFL team for three straight seasons from 1960-1962.

After playing five seasons for the Texans/Chiefs, Haynes went on to play for the Broncos, Jets, and Dolphins.

Haynes was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1991.

Read more about Haynes’ life at Chiefs.com

Around the NFL

Headlines

• RB Kenyan Drake announced his retirement from the NFL 

• The Ravens signed S Eddie Jackson to a 1-year deal

• Saints RT Ryan Ramcyzk was placed on the reserve/PUP list and will miss the entire season due to a knee injury

• The Saints gave WR Rashid Shaheed a 1-year, $5.2M extension

• The Jaguars sued a former employee, Amit Patel, who stole $22M from the team for $66.6M in damages

• LB Shaquil Barrett announced his retirement from the NFL on Saturday

• The Texans are signing RB Cam Akers

• The Packers agreed to a 3-year, $64M extension with DT Kenny Clark

Chiefs, NFL, and More

Worth the Click

• 🏈 Grab some new Chiefs gear before the season kicks off*

• 🤔 Colin Cowherd broke down the difference between Andy Reid and Bill Belichick (his opinion might surprise you)

• 😎 In case you forget, HENNEthing is possible

• 📺 The Chiefs released a 30-minute SUPERCUT recapping last season’s Back-to-Back Super Bowl Championship

• 👴 President Biden announced he will drop out of the 2024 presidential election and has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris

• 👶 Patrick and Brittany Mahomes announced the gender of their 3rd baby on Instagram

• 🎟 Grab your Chiefs tickets before prices go up*

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