ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles made his training camp debut Tuesday, though trainer Rick Burkholder downplayed his arrival by calling it simply “part of the process.”

Charles had been on the physically-unable-to-perform list the first three weeks of camp, spending his time going through rehab with the Chiefs’ training staff. Charles underwent surgery last season to repair the ACL in his right knee, which he tore in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears.

“This was the next step in the fine-tuning process,” Burkholder said. “We’ll tweak his rehab so that he gets closer to playing. It’s an absolute day-to-day process. We’ll evaluate every day.”

Charles only did stretching and light drills with the running backs before returning to the locker room area, but Burkholder said that things went according to plan.

“The next couple of days he may do exactly what he did today, but we’ll keep feeding him more of practice until we can get him back into where he’s ready to play in the game,” Burkholder said. “We have to take him off PUP to allow (running backs coach) Eric Bieniemy and Coach (Andy) Reid to evaluate him.”

Charles missed the Chiefs’ preseason opener Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks, and it appears unlikely that he will play against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday. But the four-time Pro Bowl running back hardly needs the preseason work and the priority is getting Charles ready for games that count.

The Chiefs opener the regular season against San Diego on Sept. 11.

Reid did not speak to reporters Tuesday, but special teams coach Dave Toub said “everybody was excited to see (Charles) was out here.”

“It’s just good to see 25 out on the field,” he said. “It lifts everybody’s spirits.”

The Chiefs did well without Charles last season, ripping off 11 straight wins — including their first playoff win in more than two decades — behind the one-two punch of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware.

In fact, the Chiefs thought so much of West and Ware that they signed them to long-term contracts in the offseason, envisioning a three-headed monster when Charles is added to the equation.

Each of them has a unique skillset. Charles is an all-around back with the best hands of the bunch, West is a small, shifty runner and Ware provides a physical, bruising complement to both of them.

As for getting Charles back in the mix, Burkholder said: “He did fine in my mind. What we saw today was what we expected … and tomorrow is another day.”

— Associated Press —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Kansas City rookie defensive end Chris Jones gained attention in the Chiefs’ preseason opener.

The team’s first pick of this year’s draft had two tackles against Seattle and pressured quarterbacks. He also helped thwart a fourth-and-1 attempt in Kansas City territory.

“He was able to reach out and grab people,” coach Andy Reid said Sunday. “I thought he did a good job of playing on the other side of the line of scrimmage. He got to do it against a couple of different looks.”

Jones is 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan.

“It was pretty exciting, man,” Jones said. “Just to be in the atmosphere, everybody hollering and, my first NFL game. It was an amazing, amazing feeling.”

Arrowhead Stadium can be intimidating for many veteran players, let alone rookies.

“I wasn’t intimidated or a little bit of nervous at all,” Jones said. “I was more excited than anything. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was just excited to be out there on the field. I was excited to hit someone else instead of my teammates.”

Jones is second on Kansas City’s unofficial depth chart behind Jaye Howard at left defensive end. He’s the only rookie listed on the first or second string on defense.

He sees areas he needs to improve, such as hand placement and pad leverage.

“Just the smaller things will separate a great player from an average player,” Jones said.

INJURIES AND ABSENCES

Running back Charcandrick West and quarterback Tyler Bray missed practice on Monday due to injuries.

Bray took a shot near the end of the first half of the opener and sustained a small chip fracture in his cervical spine, according to head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder. Burkholder said Bray’s main symptom is a stiff neck, and there is no timetable for his return.

“It sounds much worse than it is,” Burkholder said. “We think he’s going to be fine.”

West fell on his left arm while outstretched, resulting in a mild elbow strain He worked out with head strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin while wearing a large elbow brace.

Linebacker Frank Zombo missed Monday’s practice; his wife, Jessica, gave birth to a baby boy.

OLYMPIC CONNECTIONS

Jeff Henderson, the gold medal winner of the men’s long jump at the Olympics, tried out with the Chiefs during the offseason.

“I think he probably had his mind set on going to get the gold,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Trevone Boykin did not just hit the ground running.

He hit it running, passing and winning in a last-second rally that sure made for a splashy NFL debut.

Competing to be Russell Wilson’s backup, the rookie from TCU engineered a last-minute, 88-yard touchdown drive in four plays, connecting with Tanner McEvoy with a 37-yard scoring pass, and then handing the ball to Troy Pope for the 2-point conversion with no time remaining, lifting Seattle past Kansas City 17-16 Saturday.

Boykin, competing with veteran Jake Heaps, replaced Wilson after one possession and had some good and some not-so-good moments before getting going on the final drive.

The clock showed 0:00 when McEvoy out-positioned and out-jumped Malcolm Jackson in the end zone, bringing the Seahawks to within one point in a game they had trailed all day.

“Our guys fought to the end. That’s what we did,” said Boykin. “Tanner made a great catch.”

The stunned Chiefs were flagged for having 12 men on the field, moving the ball to the 1, and Pope went off left guard to score the winner.

Boykin, a star at TCU who was not drafted, was 16 for 26 for 188 yards. Keeping the winning drive alive, he had a scrambling 15-yard run. It was second-and-9 when he lofted the pass to McEvoy, who was waiting in the end zone for the ball.

For the first 59 minutes, the Chiefs dominated, getting a touchdown drive from Alex Smith on their first possession and three field goals from Cairo Santos, including a career-long 58-yarder.

Steven Hauschka also had three field goals for the Seahawks.

PICKING UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF

Seahawks: Hauschka was 3 for 3 after hitting 29 of 31 last season, connecting from 52, 49 and 50 yards.

Chiefs: Santos was also perfect on three attempts and Marcus Peters, last season’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, had an interception of Wilson at the goal line.

ROOKIE WATCH

Seahawks: Brandin Bryant, the 290-pound rookie out of Florida Atlantic who’s been turning heads in practice, had two tackles at left tackle and seemed to hold his own against more experienced Chiefs linemen. Tyvis Powell, a safety out of Ohio State, made an alert interception off a tipped ball, got up and returned it 11 yards to put the Seahawks at midfield.

Chiefs: Special teams hopeful Eric Murray made a nifty stop on the 9-yard line on the kickoff following Santos’ field goal, leading to KC next taking possession at its 44.

INJURY UPDATE

Seahawks: The injury issue that’s been hurting the Seahawks since camp opened kept a number of players from even suiting up, including running backs C.J. Prosise and Zac Brooks and wide receivers Deshon Foxx, Kevin Smith and Kasen Williams. … Tight end Jimmy Graham, who returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time since injuring his patella tendon last November, stayed home.

Chiefs: Linebacker D.J. Alexander went out in the first quarter with a rib injury, but returned late in the second.

POSITION BATTLES:

Seahawks: Boykin got off to a good start in his competition to back up Wilson. His case is strengthened because his college offense is similar to what he’s doing now. Flashing the agility that made him a dual-threat star at TCU, he also faked out linebacker Ramik Wilson for a 5-yard gain on third down.

Chiefs: Nick Foles, signed after camp opened to perhaps provide experienced backup for Smith, completed half his eight passes for 37 yards and was high on his first couple of throws, a problem he’s been having in camp. But tight end Demetrius Harris dropped a well-thrown ball on third down.

Smith directed a nearly flawless touchdown drive in his only possession, making a particularly nifty third-down completion to set up KC’s touchdown. He was 3 for 4 for 36 yards.

Wilson was almost equally impressive in his brief appearance. But a goal-line interception by Marcus Peters thwarted an otherwise impressive drive by the Seahawks’ first-team offense and its revamped offensive line.

Heaps was 2 for 6 for 20 yards.

Nick Foles, who had success in Philadelphia with Andy Reid, completed half of his eight passes for 37 yards after replacing Smith but was high on several throws. Tyler Bray, the strong-armed undrafted fourth-year quarterback from Tennessee, was 3 of 9 for 48 yards.

Taking advantage of Seattle mistakes, the Chiefs’ first-team offense drove 49 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead on the game’s first possession. Knile Davis picked up 34 yards with the kickoff, then a facemask penalty on Steven Terrell added 15. On third-and-9 from the Seattle 21, Smith escaped pressure and found Jeremy Maclin on the 1. Spencer Ware went in for the TD.

“It was good work out there, going against another team for the first time,” said Ware, who had 24 yards on five carries for an offense that rushed for 135 yards. “Camp’s not over yet. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

— Associated Press —