Chiefs headlines for Saturday, July 26
The latest
Rashee rice has a fan in the former Bengals receiver
Rashee Rice 1500yds + 10td season incoming, look at my instagram story & thats how i know, don’t question me if you can’t cover me‼️
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) July 24, 2025
8 – Nick Bolton
Kansas City Chiefs · Year 5
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo requires a lot of his linebackers, especially in man coverage, and Bolton has embraced the role since he was drafted in 2021, quickly emerging as the backbone of the unit. He’s prolific as a sideline-to-sideline defender and also makes offenses regret running up the middle. According to NFL Research, Bolton is one of five players with 550-plus tackles and 35-plus TFLs over their first four seasons (including playoffs) since 2000, joining Luke Kuechly, Lavonte David, NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis. He’s not just making the routine plays, either, as he’s able to move the needle as a game-changer in the biggest moments. You could make an argument that his 36-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Super Bowl LVII was one of the key reasons the Chiefs won that game. Bolton earned every bit of the new contract he signed this offseason.
Being an NFL Head Coach Has Gotten Much Harder the Past 25 Years | SI
Yet, here is Reid, chuckling when asked a theoretical question about the future of quarterback play in the NFL, tapping you on the arm and saying how lucky he is that he hasn’t had to think about that in a while.
Reid, having Patrick Mahomes, stands at the heart of what I believe about the increased complexities of the profession. He was considered one of the truly good coaches in the NFL until he came into contact with one of the greatest clutch players in league history. Now he is on the fast track to becoming quite possibly the greatest head coach of all time. (Reid is 55 regular-season wins shy of Don Shula’s record, 347, and turned 67 in March. Should he coach until 74, which is the current age of the oldest head coach in NFL history, he would need to average about seven wins per season). Reid’s assistant coaches and coordinators, in part because of Mahomes, have the space and freedom to be among the most creative, researching and incorporating plays from ancient Rose Bowls or school playgrounds. This approach helps push away the drudgery and loneliness of an NFL season. This helps empower more individuals. This lifts an organization in unseen ways and forms the basis of the razor-thin edge that only the best NFL teams enjoy.
Deep threat Xavier Worthy
Worthy already had a deep ball come his way during Tuesday’s Chiefs practice and hauled in the pass from Patrick Mahomes. On Thursday, the Chiefs’ second-year wideout pulled it off again, adjusting his route to haul in a deep ball from Mahomes — his second in three practices (per the Chiefs website).
The Chiefs have been focusing on stretching the field during training camp, looking for Worthy and Hollywood Brown on deep patterns and making the offense more vertical.
Worthy had a deep touchdown catch late in the Super Bowl blowout loss to the Eagles, and had 50 catches for 572 yards and five touchdowns in his final eight games. The Chiefs are banking on Worthy to take a big leap in Year 2.
2026 NFL draft scouting report: USC Trojans S Kamari Ramsey | NBC Sports
Kansas City needs to invest in a safety, even if two-year starter Bryan Cook and 2024 fourth round pick Jaden Hicks deliver quality play this season. Cook and backups Deon Bush and Mike Edwards all become unrestricted free agents next offseason. That leaves Hicks, who played fewer than 350 defensive snaps as a rookie, and nickel-safety hybrid Chamarri Conner as Kansas City’s lone meaningful safeties signed beyond this year.
USC’s Kamari Ramsey had second round tape in 2024 but elected to return to school rather than enter the draft. He enters the new season only trailing Ohio State’s Caleb Downs in the 2026 draft’s safety rankings.
Ramsey’s pre- and post-snap processing put him a level above most safeties in the college ranks. He anticipates and attacks screens or shallow passes, preventing offenses from picking up easy yardage. Ramsey diagnoses route concepts quickly and triggers downhill to limit yards after the catch or deliver fierce hits that force incompletions.
Around the NFL
Sources: At least 100 players face penalty over Super Bowl tix | ESPN
At least 100 players from roughly half of the NFL’s 32 teams face fines and possible suspension for allegedly selling their allotted tickets to this year’s Super Bowl LIX above face value in violation of league policies, multiple sources told ESPN.
Under an agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association, players who violated the rule will be fined 1½ times the face ticket value and lose their allotted tickets to the next two Super Bowls. If they are playing in the game, the players will have the chance to purchase seats.
Those who decline the punishment could be suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell, league and union sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.
The sources said that the number of players involved was “in excess of 100,” some of whom have already accepted the fines to avoid missing games. A league source declined to identify the players and employees who had sold their Super Bowl tickets or their clubs.
The UFL’s implosion is another opportunity for NFL minor leagues | SB Nation
What we need is farm system football
The only way another football league is going to succeed is if it’s able to tie itself to the NFL. Period. There has to be an effective link that makes fans invested in the product, and it’s a rare chance for the NFL teams to actually do something right by its loyal fans and put minor league teams in areas that are football deprived.
Every fanbase can think of a place where this would work. Obviously there’s an appetite for football in St. Louis that’s unserviced, so what if the city housed a minor league team for the Chiefs? The Panthers are very North Carolina-centric, so put its minor league team in South Carolina. Mississippi could house the Saints’ minor league team, Portland would be perfect for the Seahawks, Toronto could house a minor league team for the Bills — the list goes on.
There’s a reason Minor League Baseball works (and to a lesser extend the NBA G League). By tying fandom and interest in the back-end of prospective NFL rosters it gives a way for fans to invest in their team. It also allows for families to onboard kids to sports in a cheap, effective way that fosters a sense of community around the team.
Don’t say there’s no enough talent in the NFL to make it work, because getting reps for those back-end players on a roster is critical. It would also be a chance for players on IR or the PUP list to come back slowly into football action, without the pressure of being put immediately into an NFL game. Imagine getting word that you could see a player the caliber of a Myles Garrett or Aidan Hutchinson if you’re a football fan in a mid-sized city as the player rehabs.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs Roster: Creed Humphrey ready to build offensive line’s chemistry
Left tackle Josh Simmons
Thankfully, one player is getting more reps than we initially expected: the team’s first-round draft pick. It was feared that Simmons — returning from a right patellar injury suffered last year with Ohio State — might miss the start of the season. So far, however, he’s been a full participant with the starters.
“Obviously, he’s extremely talented,” said Humphrey of his new teammate. “You can see it on the field. He moves really well — very athletic and very strong. I mean, his first punch is insane! He’s got a ton of stuff that a lot of people don’t naturally have.”
But according to Humphrey, Simmons doesn’t stop there.
“He has that drive,” added the center. “It’s been really good to see him working, doing extra stuff after practices, focusing more in the meeting rooms, taking what he can [and] studying on his own. You can tell he’s very mature and professional about how he goes about business. It’s been awesome to have him.”
Social media to make you think
“He has a legit chance to be one of the greatest QBs ever… I think a lot of people forget about Rashee Rice…He’s going to be one of the best 10 wide receivers in the league for the next 10 years.”@Mathieu_Era explains why Mahomes & the Chiefs have a chance to bounce back: pic.twitter.com/PolVMHA823
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 24, 2025
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