The Kansas City Chiefs are dealing with just about as much adversity as possible this offseason.
The Super Bowl Champions — who are hoping to win three-straight Lombardi trophies in 2024 — have been hit with players facing serious legal issues and a kicker who caused a national controversy by giving a speech at a college graduation.
On Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs had to cancel OTA practice because one of their defensive linemen suffered cardiac arrest.
Per Tom Pelissero with the NFL Network, defensive lineman BJ Thompson suffered a medical scare during a meeting;
defensive lineman BJ Thompson suffered a seizure during a special teams meeting and went into cardiac arrest, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported, per sources.
Kansas City’s medical staff worked quickly before an ambulance was called, and Thompson is currently in stable condition, Pelissero added.
The Chiefs announced earlier Thursday that the day’s OTA session was cancelled following a medical emergency that occurred at the team facility.
Head coach Andy Reid and a few players will speak to the media on Friday. The Chiefs will begin mandatory minicamp on June 11.’
If the Chiefs are going to accomplish the three-peat it’s clear they will overcome several hurdles in route to bringing a third-straight Lombardi Trophy to the city. The status of wide receiver Rashee Rice still remains in question as the Kansas City second-year wide receiver awaits his fate from law enforcement for his involvement in a hit-and-run that took place earlier this year.
At this point it would be stunning if Rice doesn’t miss at least some of the regular season as it seems unlikely he’s going to get off completely free in an incident where he was spotted on camera leaving the scene.
If things couldn’t get any worse, it was announced on Thursday that one of the team’s former legends passed away earlier this month.
Kansas City Chiefs Legend Marvin Upshaw Passed Away Earlier This Month
On Thursday, the news broke that former Chiefs defensive linemen Marvin Upshaw passed away earlier this month. He was 77 years old.
Marvin Upshaw, who played in the NFL from 1968-76, died on June 4, according to reports.
The former Trinity University standout was a first round pick in the 1968 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He played for the Browns for two seasons, before being traded to the Chiefs, where he spent most of his career. Upshaw played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1970-75, finishing his career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1976.
Days Upshaw is the younger brother of NFL Hall of Famer Gene Upshaw, who died in 2008 at 63 years old.