The Kansas City Chiefs reported to training camp a few days ago, and two of their top rookies have made headlines in the past few days for dramatically different reasons. First-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah is reportedly back to 100%, while second-round pick Rashee Rice has an interesting take on vomiting.
Positive (And Negative) News About Chiefs Rookies Before Training Camp
The Kansas City Chiefs selected pass rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah with the final pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but they knew he wouldn’t be ready for action right out of the gate. The Kansas State product underwent thumb surgery before the draft and Kansas City actively limited his workload during rookie minicamp and offseason workouts.
Fortunately, Anudike-Uzomah has officially overcome his ailment and is now back to full health. According to the Chiefs rookie, his recovery process has “reached the finish line” and he’s reportedly 100%.
The Chiefs desperately need this little bit of good news. Even though the team just won the Super Bowl, Kansas City needs some help along the defensive line. The defense as a whole isn’t anything to write home about, and they lost Frank Clark to the Denver Broncos. With the veteran out of the picture, Anudike-Uzomah will join 2022 first-round pick George Karlaftis and Charles Omenihu as the top pass rushers for Kansas City.
Karlaftis played well as a rookie, starting all 17 games while recording six sacks, 33 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, 11 quarterback hits, and seven passes defended. Charles Omenihu, meanwhile, has historically been nothing more than a situational pass rusher, although he did record a career-high 4.5 sacks last year with the San Francisco 49ers. In a perfect world, the Chiefs rookie will slide in opposite Karlaftis and provide Kansas City with a talented young pass-rushing duo that will only improve with time.
"It's a dream come true."
Pretty cool day for Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who took the field for a training camp practice as a member of the Chiefs for the very first time. Felix, who grew up in KC, has memories of attending camp as a fan. pic.twitter.com/siD8maizgP
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) July 19, 2023
Rashee Rice: “I Don’t Mind Puking”
The Chiefs rookies reported for training camp already, and Rashee Rice appears to be having a bit of a health issue. According to multiple reports, the second-round pick spent a good portion of the team’s first session vomiting on the sidelines. However, when talking to reporters, Rice didn’t make a big deal out of the incident.
“I told them ‘to be honest with y’all, I don’t mind puking,” Rice said. “That just means I’m working as hard as I can so that I won’t puke anymore – and will be ready for the games.”
Rice apparently started practice a little sick and was expecting some difficulties because of the speed on the roster. Comparing it to “a track team”, Rice acknowledged that he expected to run for the entire practice. Hopefully, the vomiting was due to a bug of some sort and not a sign of poor conditioning, as the Chiefs desperately need somebody to step up at wide receiver.
After losing Juju Smith-Schuster to the New England Patriots, the Chiefs wide receiver depth chart lacks a proven option. Aside from Kadarius Toney and (arguably) Justyn Ross, Rashee Rice offers the most upside on the roster. Travis Kelce will always be the top option as long as he’s healthy, but the Chiefs rookie could be the second-best receiving option with a strong camp.
Main Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski – USA Today Sports
