(St. Joseph) For the first time in his career, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes brought a television to training camp at Missouri Western State University.
He revealed two reasons: he wants to watch the Paris Olympics and play the newly released video game “College Football 25.”
Whether there’s time for all that remains to be seen. Mahomes joined rookies and some veterans in camp Tuesday, a little more than five months after a win over the 49ersers San Francisco, which gave the Chiefs their second consecutive Super Bowl.
And with his sights set on lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy for a third straight season, the two-time NFL MVP knows the foundation for success is laid in July.
“Every season starts different,” Mahomes said shortly after arriving. “You have to come in with the same mentality you had the year before, with a higher intensity, and even though we won the Super Bowl last year, we didn’t play our best football.”
Indeed, the Chiefs were reeling from a Christmas Day loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. But they found their groove when the new year arrived, and they survived a brutal playoff run. They beat the Miami Dolphins at home in one of the coldest games in NFL history, then triumphed against the Bills in Buffalo and the Ravens in Baltimore.
Then came February 11, when the Chiefs ended their season by coming from behind to eliminate the 49ers in overtime.
“Obviously the end result was great,” Mahomes said, “but a lot of us have a weird feeling. We didn’t really play football the way we wanted to all year, and it wasn’t fun, trying to get better every week and not getting the results. It wasn’t a lot of fun.”
“There are several players coming back this year and they know what it’s like. So we’re going to try to prepare better so we can play better throughout the season.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he hasn’t had to remind his team of the many pitfalls of last season. Instead, he wants his team — including the veterans who report to camp Friday — to turn its attention to the new season.
“We all know in the NFL, every season is different,” Reid said. “We’ve said it every year here, and so you’ve got to stay on top of your game. You’ve got to practice. You’ve got to get through [le camp]be conditioned, and you have to perform well mentally and physically. So it all starts over again. It starts all over again.”
Among the stories that will mark camp is the debut of the team’s first-round pick, wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who will be ready for camp after being sidelined during the offseason with a hamstring injury.
Left guard Joe Thuney, defensive back Jaylen Watson, defensive end Charles Omenihu and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi are also on the list of players unable to perform.
Rashee Rice could be suspended as he faces multiple criminal charges following a car collision in Dallas.