Two projected starters will be sidelined initially in St. Joseph
Sunday marked the arrival of the Kansas City Chiefs to Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, where they will spend the next few weeks at training camp.
At head coach Andy Reid’s initial press conference, he revealed that the Chiefs would at least temporarily be without the services of three players: tackle Jawaan Taylor, cornerback Kristian Fulton, and tight end Tre Watson.
Reid confirmed that all three would begin camp on the active physically-unable-to-perform list (PUP).
“As far as any of the injuries go,” the coach began, “I can update you real quick. PUP — the people who will start on PUP — Fulton will start on PUP, Jawaan Taylor, and Tre Watson. Those three will start there. Everybody else is good to go — and we should be ripping and ready by tomorrow.”
All three players had been noted as missing or limited during media looks at the offseason program and minicamp. The Chiefs later confirmed that Fulton and Taylor are currently recovering from knee injuries.
Taylor is entering his third season with the Chiefs, and he was frequently listed with a knee issue on injury reports last season. After Kansas City used the 32nd selection in April’s NFL Draft to draft tackle Joshua Simmons, it was revealed that Taylor had undergone an offseason knee procedure.
Simmons, who fell in the draft after his own serious knee injury last season at Ohio State, will not begin camp on an injury list.
Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images
Players on the camp PUP list can be activated at any time. If an injury extends to the end of the preseason and the 53-man roster cutdown deadline, that player would transfer to the reserve PUP list. While he would not count against the 53-man roster in that case, he would need to miss at least the first four regular-season games before being activated.
While Reid hopes it is a fast process for all three players, the coach seemed optimistic that Taylor would be the first to be activated.
“We’re hoping it’s relatively fast,” said Reid. “I’d tell you Jawaan’s probably closer, right now.”
Fulton came to Kansas City as an unrestricted free agent after spending 2024 with the Los Angeles Chargers. Watson joined the team as an undrafted free agent in April.
While wide receiver Rashee Rice’s playing status is currently unknown for legal reasons, he appears set to fully participate in camp after a season-ending knee injury early last season. Reid also made no mention of tight end Jared Wiley, who tore his ACL in practice last November.