NFL notebook Chiefs 1st to have fans at training camp
The Kansas City Chiefs will allow up to 2,000 season ticket holders to attend training camp Saturday, making them the first NFL team to allow fans since the coronavirus pandemic dramatically altered the way teams are preparing for the season.
The team also said that up to 5,000 season ticket holders will be allowed at practice Aug. 29, when the franchise plans to raise a new Super Bowl championship flag over the west end zone.
The Chiefs typically draw thousands of fans daily to training camp on the campus of Missouri Western State University, about an hour’s drive north of Kansas City in St. Joseph, Mo. But the pandemic caused the Chiefs and the few other teams that still leave home for training camp to hold all workouts at team facilities.
The Chiefs are fortunate in that their practice facility is just across the parking lot from Arrowhead Stadium. They have been using both locations to allow for more social distancing in walk-throughs and meetings. The practices that are open to fans will be at Arrowhead Stadium, where they will be able to social distance.
Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys released defensive tackle Gerald McCoy on Tuesday, a day after the newcomer had a season-ending leg injury. McCoy tore his right quadriceps muscle Monday while engaging defensive tackle Antwaun Woods during an individual drill. It was the first padded practice of training camp for the Cowboys.
The injury waiver means the Cowboys pay only the $3 million signing bonus on the $18 million, three-year contract McCoy signed during the offseason.
Browns
Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb has been placed in concussion protocol after getting a head injury while being tackled around the neck by starting linebacker Mack Wilson during the team’s first fully padded practice Monday. And not long after first-year Browns coach Kevin Stefanski announced Chubb’s concussion Tuesday, Wilson, who was demoted to the second-team defense for hurting his teammate, injured his left knee while breaking up a pass and had to be carted off the field. Per league rules, Chubb, who finished second in the NFL last season with 1,494 yards rushing, will have to pass several neurological tests before he can return.
Elsewhere
Two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Flores and standout wide receiver Drew Pearson are finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2021. Flores, the first Hispanic coach in the NFL, was nominated in the new coaches category, while Pearson is a senior nominee. Flores had a 105-90 career record with the Raiders and Seahawks. He took the Raiders to Super Bowl victories in 1981 and 1984. In nine seasons with the Raiders, Flores won 91 games against 56 losses (.619 percentage), including a record of 8-3 (.727) in the playoffs. An undrafted free agent, Pearson played his entire 11year career with the Cowboys. He has 489 receptions for 7,822 yards (16 yards per catch).