Getty Patrick Mahomes celebrates with Tyreek Hill after scoring a touchdown.
Training camp opened for the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. Rookies and veterans took the field for the first time to begin their journey towards a Super Bowl title. Tyreek Hill was a full participant in practice, and made an immediate impact.
The NFL decided not to suspend Hill after a long review process of alleged child abuse accusations. This means that the Chiefs get their No. 1 receiver back on the field for all 16 games. Kansas City has made it clear that they are trusting Hill to stay out of trouble. His teammates were behind him throughout the entire process, and so was the front office.
According to Adam Teicher of ESPN.com, team chairman Clark Hunt said that the Chiefs never considered imposing any penalty of their own beyond the offseason suspension. The team left the decision in the hands of the NFL, and it worked out in their favor.
“It was a very frank conversation talking to him about his responsibility as he comes back to be a Kansas City Chief,” Hunt said.
#Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill greeted in St. Joe.
Hill received a warm welcome from Chiefs’ fans as he was jogging onto the practice field. It is clear that they are happy to have their speedster receiver back on the field to put on another show in 2019. Hill finished with 87 catches for 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. This marked the second time in his three year career that Hill eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark. Another guy that is happy to have Hill back on the field is the reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes on First Day of Camp
Mahomes is a marvel. Last season, we saw No. 15 do things on a football field that we have never seen before. Mahomes brought the no look pass from the NBA to the NFL. He even completed a first down pass with his opposite hand while being taken down. His left hand was on display once again in camp as he threw a pass through a target using his wrong hand.
Hill and Mahomes connected many times during the quarterback’s 5,000 yard, 50 touchdown season. It is important to have all players on the same page from the first day of camp.
“Whenever you go out there on Sundays, it’s about stuff you did in training camp,” Mahomes said. “It’s about that hard work, that dedication you put in each and every day. You saw that today. We had a great practice to start it off, and I think we’re going to keep building as the training camp goes on.”
With Hill back to being lined up outside, Mahomes will have his full set of skill position players for week one. Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins are both healthy and ready to make an impact. The Chiefs offense was dynamic in 2018, but they could move onto being historic this season.
“The whole offense was really rolling and we were really connecting on a lot of deep balls,” Mahomes said. “It’s obviously good to get out there and get those reps and get those big passes completed. That’s a big part of our offense.”