Tyreek Hill, Juan Thornhill Return to Chiefs Practice

Hill and Thornhill have returned to the practice field after missing a short period of padded practices in St. Joe.

After suffering injuries in the early days of training camp, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill and safety Juan Thornhill returned to the practice field on Thursday in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Hill did not participate in Tuesday or Wednesday's practice after the Chiefs diagnosed him with knee tendinitis, as head coach Andy Reid detailed on Tuesday.

"So, Tyreek Hill has a little bit of knee tendinitis," Reid said. "We just kind of pumped the brakes on it. It just showed up today, so we backed off of him."

Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star tweeted that Hill "looks fine" on the field Thursday, a positive sign in his return. Adam Teicher of ESPN later tweeted that Hill is "not being limited in any way" following a touchdown reception from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Patrick Mahomes finds Tyreek Hill on the second play of their Red Zone set 👀 pic.twitter.com/MydskaT1Kr

— Tucker D. Franklin (@tuckerdfranklin) August 5, 2021

Hill looked like himself in individual drills against cornerback Mike Hughes as well, as captured by Eddie High on Twitter.

Tyreek vs Hughes pic.twitter.com/qSFoFCjthO

— EDDIE HIGH (@EddieHigh) August 5, 2021

Thornhill left practice early on Monday and was later diagnosed with a groin strain, leading him to miss Tuesday and Wednesday's practices before returning on Thursday.

Thornhill and Long walking up the hill. Thornhill spent some time in the injury tent before leaving the field. They seemed to be working on his right leg. pic.twitter.com/HpDNIqQv94

— Steven St.John (@SSJWHB) August 2, 2021

Earlier in training camp, Thornhill discussed his recovery from an ACL tear suffered in Week 17 of the 2019 season and how it impacted him through the Chiefs' 2020 campaign.

"Honestly, I had to play it off a little bit," Thornhill said of his recovery throughout the 2020 season. "I wasn’t at 100%, but it was just more about the mental. Like, I had to tell myself, 'It’s going to hurt, but you’ve got to play through it.' So, that’s why when the end of the season came, you saw me making more plays, just because it was more mental, and I just pushed myself through that mental block.”

According to Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. did not appear during Thursday's practice after entering the concussion protocol on Wednesday. Defensive end Alex Okafor suffered a hamstring issue on Wednesday, which also sidelined him on Thursday, though he was on the sidelines with right tackle Mike Remmers and cornerback Deandre Baker.

Read More: Juan Thornhill is Fully Healthy and Ready to Lead