Getty Kansas City Chiefs tight end Jody Fortson.
With quarterbacks, rookies, and select players reporting to Kansas City Chiefs training camp on July 22, some of the team’s players have begun to take the field in St. Joseph, Missouri to officially begin their 2022 training camp.
Having quarterbacks and some of their pass-catchers on the field this early can be advantageous for the offense, especially if most of the veteran defenders aren’t asked to show up until July 26, when the remainder of the players on the team are reporting to camp. And that doesn’t even take into account that the players aren’t allowed to put pads on until Aug. 1.
With that being said, one young pass-catcher returning from injury did stand out among the rest early on in camp for the defending AFC West champions: tight end Jody Fortson.
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Fortson a Red-Zone Threat in Camp
Fortson began Day 1 of training camp on July 24 with some strong efforts in the red zone.
“Jody Fortson had a strong day, catching three TDs in red zone 7-on-7,” Matt McMullen of Chiefs.com wrote on Twitter.
That’s a wrap on the Chiefs’ first practice here in St. Joe. It’s just QBs, rookies and a handful of players returning from injuries right now, but a few notes:
– Jody Fortson had a strong day, catching three TDs in red zone 7-on-7
– Trent McDuffie had a PBU in the end zone
Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest detailed one of Fortson’s touchdowns from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“Mahomes delivered his best throw of the practice during the second 7-on-7 period, hitting tight end Jody Fortson on a corner route to the right side of the end zone,” Derrick wrote in his camp notebook.
Head coach Andy Reid spoke highly of Fortson’s efforts at the start of camp.
“Jody looked good out here,” Reid said on July 24. “He kind of knocked that rust off that kind of worry about the leg during those OTAs so he’s able to come out here and function. I thought he looked sharp.”
Fortson Returning from Injury After Cinderella Season
Fortson’s cinderella season in 2021 came to a screeching halt when he tore his Achilles in Kansas City’s Week 6 win over Washington.
But after rehabbing and participating in the Chiefs’ organized team activities and minicamp this offseason, Fortson’s efforts early on in camp seem to reflect how he’s feeling.
“I feel like I’m ready to go,” said Fortson told the media on July 24 after practice.
The Chiefs journeyman explained that the support system around him helped him push through his rehab this offseason.
“I just kept my faith you know? I got a strong support system, especially with my family and my team around me,” Fortson said. “So I just attacked every day as if I was gonna play on Sunday. I was in the rehab room just working and continuing to work as if I was gonna suit up that Sunday. They never really allowed me to get down on myself. So I just, I was never actually down.”
With Travis Kelce, 2021 draft pick Noah Gray and Blake Bell re-signing with the Chiefs this offseason, it won’t be easy for Fortson to make Kansas City’s 53-man roster in 2022 like he did for the first time in 2021. And that’s without taking into consideration a talented wide receiver room that has 13 players in it heading into training camp. Because of this, roster spots for pass-catchers, especially in the tight end room, might be more limited this season compared to last season.
Fortson is up for the battle, though.
“It’s a dog-eat-dog environment,” he said. “That’s how I see it. And what kind of dog are you going to be?”