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GuidelinesContactAbout StubHub ✕Filed under:Kansas City Chiefs NewsChiefs tight
end Travis Kelce should be ready to play by training campNew,18commentsThe star
tight end is the only player in the tight end room who is a lock to play the
position this SeptemberCDTShareTweetShareShareChiefs tight end Travis Kelce
should be ready to play by training campPhoto by Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesThe
Kansas City Chiefs now have seven tight ends on their 90-man roster ¡ª Travis
Kelce is a lock as the starter. The Chiefs will carry two ¡ª possibly three ¡ª
tight ends on the final roster when the season begins.So six players are
competing for one or two roster spots ¡ª the heaviest competition at any position
on the team ¡ª but right now, the Chiefs are having trouble putting very many of
them on the field for OTAs.Thus far, Kelce has been held out of offseason
practices because of the ankle surgery he had after last season.But according to
head coach Andy Reid ¡ª who spoke to the media after the team¡¯s OTA session on
Thursday ¡ª two more were sidelined.¡°There are a couple of guys that are nicked
up just a little bit,¡± he said. ¡°Blake Bell¡¯s back locked up on him ¡ª just
spasms ¡ª so he didn¡¯t practice today.¡±Bell, a former Oklahoma Sooner quarterback
who converted to tight end in his final college season, came to the Chiefs after
stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers
¡ª who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.But Reid said
another one of his bevy of tight ends was kept out of practice on Thursday.¡°Deon
Yelder, the tight end, had a little bit of a hamstring strain,¡± Reid said. ¡°He¡¯s
just precautionary ¡ª keeping him out today and we¡¯ll see how things go down the
road with him.¡±Yelder ¡ª an undrafted free agent out of Western Kentucky ¡ª spent
the first part of the 2018 season on the New Orleans Saints practice
squad.Released by the Saints in early October, he was signed to the Chiefs
practice squad and promoted to the active roster a few weeks later.He saw
special teams action in three games last season.That leaves John Lovett, David
Wells, Joe Fortson and Nick Keizer ¡ª the latter signed just a week ago after
being released by the Baltimore Ravens.¡°We just signed a new
kid
Demarcus
Robinson Jersey , Keizer, and actually he¡¯s doing a nice job,¡± Reid told
the press on Thursday. ¡°Wells is in there too doing well. We¡¯ve mixed both of
our fullbacks in to take some reps there and they¡¯re doing a nice job
likewise.¡±Both of their fullbacks?Former Green Bay Packers fullback Aaron
Ripkowski had been one of the Chiefs¡¯ early offseason signings, but he was
released several weeks ago; only longtime Chief Anthony Sherman is listed as a
fullback on the current Chiefs roster.Reid¡¯s words suggested that Lovett ¡ª
another converted quarterback whom the Chiefs had previously said was getting
work at the fullback position ¡ª might be seen by Chiefs coaches as more of a
fullback than a tight end (perhaps even an H-back, if you will).Reid¡¯s next
statement amplified that idea.¡°If you¡¯re going to play fullback here you¡¯re also
going to have to play tight end,¡± Reid said. ¡°All in all, they¡¯re getting great
work. With Travis not being able to practice they¡¯re getting great work.¡±Reid¡¯s
statements provide some hints about how the Chiefs might intend to structure the
53-man roster in 2019.The Chiefs carried just two tight ends in 2018, but they
could decide to keep an extra one this season if that player could also serve as
a fullback.Or to put it another way, the Chiefs could decide to keep two
fullbacks ¡ª one of whom could also be used as a tight end.As always, Reid likes
to keep opposing defenses guessing. That kind of versatility built into his
offensive roster could add another layer of uncertainty to what the Chiefs might
do when a particular group of offensive players is on the field.But one thing
remains certain: Kelce will be the starter at tight end.Reid was asked if Kelce
would be ready for the mandatory minicamp that begins June 11.¡°I don¡¯t think
next week,¡± Reid replied. ¡°I think you¡¯ll probably see him at training camp.¡±
The Jacksonville Jaguars were so confident in their future behind Blake Bortles
that they selected running back Leonard Fournette rather than a quarterback with
the No. 4 pick in last year's draft.They could have had Patrick Mahomes, who
went six spots later to Kansas City.The two quarterbacks ¡ª for Jacksonville,
what is and could have been ¡ª were both on display Sunday, and Bortles responded
with an afternoon to forget.He threw four interceptions, was stripped while
getting
sacked
Sammy
Watkins Jersey , turned the ball over twice more on downs and generally
had all kinds of trouble with the NFL's worst defense in a 30-14 loss to the
Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium ."I can't throw four picks," he said. "Hard to win
when you turn the ball over that many times."Now, the Jaguars (3-2) are hardly
going to give up on Bortles, especially after leading them to the AFC title game
last year. But in a showdown between two of the top contenders to reach it this
year, the former first-round pick put the weight of the loss squarely on his
shoulders."We had a little bit of bad fortune. Had a tipped pick in the end
zone, had a screen get picked. Got to find a way to see that and not let that
happen," said Bortles, who finished 33 of 61 for 430 yards and accounted for two
TDs, though most of that offense came as the Jaguars played from behind."It's
stuff we've got to try to eliminate. It's a group effort," he said. "We all got
to lock in and be better. But I think we've got a chance to get hot now and go
win three in a row."As for Mahomes? He threw for 313 yards and ran for a
touchdown against the league's No. 1 defense, and made so many improvisational
plays that it left several Jacksonville defenders tipping their caps."He's a
good kid. They got a good thing going up here," Jaguars defensive tackle Malik
Jackson said. "They got a lot of weapons. They got a lot of trick 'em stuff.
They're good. I can't really sit here and talk mess, because they beat us, so
they're good."It wasn't exactly a fair fight, at least where Bortles is
concerned.Fournette was inactive with a hamstring
injury
Anthony
Hitchens Jersey , and the Jaguars lost backup Corey Grant during the game,
leaving their running attack to banged-up T.J. Yeldon and journeyman Brandon
Wilds.Throw in an injury to left tackle Josh Wells and their offense became
one-dimensional.Then there was the sieve-like showing of the offensive line,
which allowed five sacks and 11 hurries to a defense that had been ranked last
in the NFL in yards allowed. If not for some nifty escape moves by Bortles, he
probably would have gone down another handful of times."We've just got to do a
better job. We've got to protect better, we've got to make better throws, we've
got to make catches down there when we have it," Marrone said, lamenting their
inability to score in the red zone in particular. "I think everyone knows we all
have to do a better job down there."What makes the performance Sunday even more
maddening was the fact that Jacksonville was coming off 30-12 victory over the
New York Jets in which Bortles and the offense were crisp and efficient, and
that in turn came after a 9-6 loss to the Tennessee Titans in which they could
do little right."We have to find a way to make plays early, sustain drives and
get it rolling," Bortles said. "I felt like we waited until we were down in a
bad place and decided we wanted to play, and we can't let that happen. We have
to start from the beginning, at the first snap, playing as hard as we can play
to do everything we can to be successful and score points."