Tight end Travis Kelce, franchised guard Trey Smith attend Chiefs minicamp

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Tight end Travis Kelce, franchised guard Trey Smith attend Chiefs minicamp

2025-06-18 03:50 Last Updated At：04:00

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Four-time All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce and Pro Bowl right guard Trey Smith, who skipped voluntary workouts after receiving the franchise tag, were present for the start of the Kansas City Chiefs' mandatory three-day minicamp Tuesday.

Kelce also was absent for the voluntary workouts that had been open to reporters in recent weeks.

Smith is hoping to land a long-term contract with the Chiefs, who chose him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, when his stock had plummeted amid health concerns. He has far outplayed that draft positioning, though, and that is why the Chiefs gave him the franchise tag — essentially a $23.4 million guaranteed salary for the upcoming season.

Smith and the Chiefs have until mid-July to work out a new contract, otherwise he will play the season on the one-year deal.

Smith was not made available to reporters Tuesday, but the fact that he reported to the mandatory minicamp — rather than risk a potential fine — was noteworthy. Two years ago, defensive tackle Chris Jones held out all summer and into the start of the regular season before eventually agreeing to a contract with Kansas City.

“It's good (Smith) didn't take my approach,” Jones quipped. “He shouldn't take advice from me.”

While the Chiefs worked through several lineups during the roughly 90-minute session, Smith's decision to report did give them an opportunity to see what their revamped offensive line could look like this upcoming season.

After they struggled to protect Patrick Mahomes for most of last season, and especially during a lopsided Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, the Chiefs began the makeover by trading two-time All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney to the Bears for a draft pick in March.

The Chiefs proceeded to draft Josh Simmons, an offensive tackle from Ohio State, with the final pick in the first round.

Simmons was widely considered the top tackle available, but he was coming off a knee injury that caused him to slip to the 32nd overall pick. The Chiefs were confident in their medical workup on him, though, and that gamble appears to be paying off: He was on the field and moving around well during the start of the minicamp.

“Just trying to be available as I can right now,” he said.

It's unclear whether Simmons will be a full participant when training camp begins in late July, but things appear to be trending in that direction. And that raises hopes around Kansas City that Mahomes will finally have a capable blind-side protector.

“I wanted to be able to throw the pads on ASAP,” Simmons said. “Whatever the staff allows me to do, I'm definitely going to do.”

Meanwhile, the Chiefs are hopeful that second-year pro Kingsley Suamataia can continue his transition from tackle to guard, and take Thuney's place alongside Simmons on the left side of the line. And when they are joined by All-Pro center Creed Humphrey, Smith at right guard and veteran Jawaan Taylor at right tackle, the Chiefs could have their best offensive line in years.

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In their words: Survivors and others talk about fatal Swiss Alpine bar fire

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.

Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:

— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”

— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.

—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.

Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”

— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”

— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.