After returning to practice for the first time since his Aug. 14 car accident, Mark Andrews described how fortunate he felt to escape an incident that could've been much worse.
"It's extremely scary, it's definitely a serious thing," Andrews said. "For me it puts things in perspective. Tell the people that you're around that you love them. Wear your seatbelt. You never know what's going to happen on the road. I'm very blessed and fortunate to have God on my side and to be wearing my seat belt. I feel good. I'm excited about the season."
Head Coach John Harbaugh said consistently that Andrews would be fine and had escaped the incident without serious injury. Andrews has been around the team regularly, attending meetings since the accident, and he accompanied the team on its preseason trip to Green Bay. However, being back on the practice field Friday felt especially good to Andrews, a player who hates to miss time.
"I've always had the kind of mindset of being resilient, moving forward," Andrews said. "You can't take things for granted. For me, it definitely showed me that.
"At first, it's a pretty big shock. I was in meetings probably an hour later (after the accident) and people were like, 'What are you doing here?'"
Andrews put himself through an intense offseason regime after fracturing his fibula last November, the most serious injury of his career. He's looking forward to having another crack at the Chiefs with both the injury and car accident behind him.
"It's big," Andrews said. "Having the last game being played against them and not really feeling like myself just yet – (now) body feels healthy. I worked really hard this offseason, had a good camp. It's time to go put the work in for this season."
Eddie Jackson Misses Practice After Flight Issues
Harbaugh said safety Eddie Jackson was not at practice Friday due to travel issues. The Ravens were off Tuesday through Thursday.
"Eddie didn't make a flight," Harbaugh said. "They had flights cancelled. That was his deal."
Rookie safety Beau Brade, who made the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent, said Jackson was one of the teammates who had helped his NFL transition most.
"Eddie Jackson came in later on, I just tried to learn as much as I can from those guys," Brade said. "A lot of times veteran guys shy away from helping you, trying to help their chances of staying on the roster. That hasn't been the case at all here. They've been helpful 100% just trying to help me be the best I can be."
Offensive lineman Patrick Mekari and rookie outside linebacker Adisa Isaac also did not practice Friday, due to what Harbaugh said was "just standard operating stuff."
Tylan Wallace's Offensive Role Could Increase
Tylan Wallace has been a key contributor on special teams during his three seasons with Baltimore but has just seven career receptions.
After another strong summer from Wallace that included a 48-yard touchdown reception in the preseason finale at Green Bay, Harbaugh said Wallace could see more offensive snaps in 2024.
"I think Tylan is going to get opportunities everywhere – offense and special teams," Harbaugh said. "He has looked good; [he] had a couple of nice plays out there today, of course, like he does really every day. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does this year."
Chiefs Rule Out Hollywood Brown for Week 1
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid told reporters that wide receiver Hollywood Brown won't play against Baltimore in Week 1.
The former Ravens wide receiver separated his shoulder on the first play of the preseason. Reid said Brown was recovering quickly, but not fast enough to face his former team on Sept. 5.
"Hollywood won't be back this week and we'll just see how it goes [from there]," Reid said via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. "But the kid's amazing. I mean, his progress has been incredible, but I wouldn't predict him being there this week."
The Chiefs anticipated that Brown wouldn't be back in time to face the Ravens and kept seven wide receivers on their 53-man roster. That group includes first-round pick Xavier Worthy, last year's leading receiver Rashee Rice, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, who Kansas City signed last week.
