KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Five takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs’ final practice of rookie minicamp:
1. The Chiefs had four quarterbacks participating, all on a tryout basis: Bo Wallace of Ole Miss, Michael Strauss of Richmond, Cody Sokol of Louisiana Tech and Chris Bonner of Colorado State-Pueblo. One would seem to be a prime candidate to receive a contract from the Chiefs and therefore an invitation to full-squad offseason practice that begins next week and training camp afterward. The Chiefs have three healthy quarterbacks under contract: starter Alex Smith and backups Chase Daniel and Aaron Murray. Tyler Bray is rehabbing from a torn ACL and the resulting surgery. But coach Andy Reid said the Chiefs could go through offseason work and training camp with just three QBs. “Until I came here, I had done that for the last few years,’’ Reid said, referring to his final seasons coaching the Philadelphia Eagles.
2. The offensive star of practice was wide receiver Kenny Cook, an undrafted rookie from Gardner-Webb. He made several difficult catches. “He sure is a big target with a big catch radius and he made some plays for us,’’ Reid said of Cook, who at 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds is indeed a big target. Cook is a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with lymphoma when he was 15 and a sophomore in high school. Cook had chemotherapy and radiation but reported his cancer was in remission for the past few years. While it’s far too early to suggest Cook will make the Chiefs’ regular-season roster, they are in no position to turn away a promising wide receiver. An Indianapolis TV station reported that Chiefs receiver Da’Rick Rogers was sentenced to one day in jail and six months of probation to resolve a 2014 DUI case. Rogers is among a group of receivers vying for a roster spot as a backup.
3. The defensive star was inside linebacker Ramik Wilson, who had a couple of interceptions. The Chiefs drafted Wilson in the fourth round from Georgia because they like him in pass coverage as well as against the run. “He’s got strong hands and he’s got a knack for making plays,’’ Reid said.
4. Two of the Chiefs’ top draft picks, first-round cornerback Marcus Peters and third-round wide receiver Chris Conley, were among a group of players working as kick returners. The Chiefs successfully turned Knile Davis into a kickoff return threat even though he never returned a kick in college. Peters didn’t return during a game in college at Washington while Conley returned one punt but no kickoffs in four seasons at Georgia. “They’ve done it when they were younger,’’ Reid said. “We thought we would give them an opportunity. [Special-teams coach Dave Toub] has everybody back there and he tries them, even guys that haven’t done it that might have some potential.” Peters and Conley had their share of problems in practice. Peters dropped a punt while Conley dropped one and badly misjudged another. In their defense, the day was a windy one in Kansas City. “It looked like they handled it pretty well,'' Reid said. "We’ve had a couple of windy days here and the ball’s been all over the place, but they handled it.’’ The Chiefs appear happy with their main veteran returners, Davis on kickoffs and De’Anthony Thomas on punts.
5. The Chiefs reported no significant injuries from the three-day camp, which may have been the most positive development of all.