Chiefs camp populated with quarterbacks

The Chiefs are populated at quarterback. The addition of veteran Nick Foles earlier this week pushed the depth chart to five, and it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where that number remains constant.

Alex Smith is the team’s undisputed starter. Foles is the only other candidate in camp who has played in an NFL game, starting 35 games in his four-year career.

Tyler Bray and Aaron Murray have yet to appear in a regular-season game, and the addition of Foles increases the chances of one of them not finishing the preseason with the Chiefs.

The reserves understand the situation.

“There are two aspects of football, what goes on on the field and the business side,” Murray said. “As players we can’t worry about the business side and stress yourself out.

“If you worry about all that kind of stuff, the trades, the moves and the signings it’s going to affect your playing on the field.”

Rookie Kevin Hogan is the fifth quarterback.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said on Friday that Foles’ experience separates him from the others. He’s 19-16 as a starter and has thrown for more than 8,000 yards in his career. Foles spent his first three years with the Eagles — his rookie season under Reid — and last year with the Rams.

Bray is in his fourth year, Murray his third, all with the Chiefs. Both looked sharp in Saturday’s workout as Foles looks to gain a comfort level with his new team.

“You have to come out here every with the same mentality,” Bray said. “You can’t start counting reps and thinking if he threw a touchdown, now I have to throw one. You just go out and compete. You worry about what you can control. And the coaches will decide.

Bray had been taking most of the second team snaps until the Foles’ signing. On Saturday they seemed to share second-team snaps.

“He’s a great football player,” Bray said of Foles. “He can flat out spin the ball.”

Co-offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said it was too early to determine whether Foles could play in the preseason open next Saturday against the Seahawks at Arrowhead Stadium.

Bray and Murray said they’ve made progress in camp.

“I feel good about it,” Bray said. “I’ve had a few mental errors here and there, but other than that I think I’ve done pretty well.”

Same for Murray.

“I feel great, body feels great, arm feels great,” Murray said. “Just learning from Chase (Daniel) and Alex helped me get to the point where I get to my routes faster, understand defenses, get to the line and see where he blitz is coming from and pick it up.

“Things are definitely slowing down, but there’s still work to be done.”

But when Bray takes the field it will be his first game action since the 2014 preseason after sitting out last year with a torn ACL suffered in the off-season.

He’s more than ready.

“Any time you’re competing it’s going to help out,” Bray said. “You never want to be handed something. That’s now how this business works. You go out there and compete.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Chiefs camp populated with quarterbacks."