Chiefs Injury Update: Rookie WR Cyrus Allen Returns, Long List of Others Sidelined

After one day of lighter work on Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs have returned to full pads for Friday's training camp practice in St. Joseph, Missouri.

The biggest news from Friday's session is the return of rookie fifth-round wide receiver Cyrus Allen, who reportedly suffered a shin bruise on August 1, keeping him off the field for nearly a week.

Friday marked Allen's first padded practice as a pro, but according to Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star, Allen didn't return to full participation on his first day back.

"Haven’t seen Cyrus Allen participating in the WR/CB contact drill," McDowell noted on Twitter/X.

Cyrus Allen back to work today. pic.twitter.com/A4WdiXEA12
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) August 7, 2026

According to Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest, the long list of sidelined Chiefs included wide receiver Xavier Worthy (shoulder), defensive end Ashton Gillotte (hamstring), linebacker Drue Tranquill (back), linebacker Jeffrey Bassa (groin), cornerback Kristian Fulton (hip), cornerback L'Jarius Sneed (knee), defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (PUP, knee) and—for the first time this camp—right guard Trey Smith.

Meanwhile, rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane remains in a yellow no-contact jersey, which he has worn throughout the entirety of camp so far.

Andy Reid shares optimistic injury updates

After practice, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid provided an update on Smith and shared a silver lining about the team's list of injuries.

"One positive about these injuries is there's nothing that the guys aren't coming back from, but we've got a couple little nicks and bruises," Reid said. "Bassa has a groin strain. Gillotte's still working on the hamstring. Trey, his hip was bothering him, [we] sent him to a specialist just to have it checked out, precautionary, he's gonna be OK."

Reid went on to confirm that the team is monitoring Sneed's health similarly to the way they did during his first stint in Kansas City.

"L'Jarius, just like we did when he was here before, we're managing his knee," Reid said. "We know the problem, and we managed through that. And then Drue, like last year, he gets low back tightness, some soreness spasms there, so we're just calming him down. And then Xavier's making progress with the shoulder. Delane got good work today, Rashee [Rice] got good work today."

Regarding Allen's limited return to the field, Reid said the team began to "ease him back in" on Friday.

"He did a good job when he was out there," Reid said. "So, that was positive."

The domino effect of Kansas City's camp injuries

Smith's absence led to an interesting development for one of the Chiefs' most surprising stories of training camp.

According to McDowell, Chiefs rookie undrafted free agent Kahlil Benson, who has spent much of camp working with the first-team offense at right tackle, kicked in to right guard with Smith away, allowing Jaylon Moore to return to right tackle.

With Delane limited and Sneed and Fulton sidelined, the Chiefs were without three of their presumed top four boundary corner candidates (with Nohl Williams healthy and practicing) as full-contact participants. Meanwhile, two of the team's top four linebackers are out, leaving Nick Bolton and Cooper McDonald to lead the way.

While Gillotte has been the most likely candidate to start at defensive end opposite of George Karlaftis, his absence should provide more opportunities for defensive ends R Mason Thomas and Felix Anudike-Uzomah.

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