Kansas City Chiefs Prepare for Another Championship Run
The Kansas City Chiefs, fresh off their second consecutive Super Bowl victory in 2023, are diligently preparing for the upcoming season. With their eyes set on continuing their dominance, the team gathered at Missouri Western State University for their training camp. Quarterbacks and rookies began their preparation on Wednesday, with the full squad joining on Sunday.
Chiefs' star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has openly discussed the offensive inconsistencies that plagued the team last season, despite their ultimate success. “The end result [last season] was awesome, but I think a lot of us still have a weird feeling in our mouth,” Mahomes admitted. “It wasn't fun every single week having to try to just continue to get better and better and the results not paying off the way you wanted to. We have a lot of those same guys back and they know how that felt, so we’re going to try to prepare ourselves better this year.”
In a bid to bolster their offensive strength, the Chiefs added two rapid wide receivers to their lineup: free agent Marquise Brown and rookie Xavier Worthy. Worthy, a standout at the scouting combine with a record-setting 4.21-second 40-yard dash, appears poised to make a significant impact. However, his progress was hampered during the offseason due to a sore hamstring.
Mahomes emphasized the urgency of getting Worthy up to speed. “There’s no easing [him in]. He’s going to have to be ready to go. We got a lot of competition on this offense,” he said. “He got a lot of mental work in these last few weeks that he had during OTAs and minicamp, but it’s time to go now. Y’all saw it with Rashee [Rice] last year and some of the throwing-up days he had. We’re going to push you to the limit and prepare yourself to be ready to go for the season.”
The dynamic quarterback is enthusiastic about the new speed added to their roster, citing the daily practice battles against their formidable defense as a vital development tool. “We added a lot of speed. What’s better than going against our defense? It’s the best defense in the NFL and we get to go against them every single day and really show where we’re at and how we can get better,” Mahomes noted.
There's also a personal milestone on the horizon for Mahomes, as he and his wife Brittany are expecting their third child. The quarterback, who grew up in locker rooms thanks to his father’s baseball career, expressed his joy about his growing family. “It’s awesome. I always wanted to have kids young. I got to grow up in the locker room. I think I’ve talked about it before and it made such an impact in my life and so I wanted to have kids young and we’re having our third kid now to join our family,” he shared. “Brittany does a great job of doing that and we still go out and enjoy our life and let our kids see these great things they might not be able to remember but have videos of and it is really cool. I spend so much time in the building at football for these seven, eight months and whenever I’m with my family, I want to enjoy those moments.”
Mahomes' commitment to his family does not detract from his focus on football. As the Chiefs regroup and intensify their training, the aim is clear: maintain the championship standard while addressing and rectifying the offensive struggles. “We’re back at St. Joe. It’s time to get better. Every season starts differently,” Mahomes emphasized. “You’ve got to come in with that same mentality you had the year before, even with a higher intensity. Even though we won the Super Bowl last year, we felt like we didn’t play our best football, especially offensively. So it’s our goal to be better that way and coming in with that mentality every single day.”
Training camp now beckons, a proving ground where the Chiefs will forge their path for the season ahead, driven by experience, fresh talent, and the relentless pursuit of football excellence.