Chiefs’ George Karlaftis says quiet part out loud about training camp ‘gut check’

The Kansas City Chiefs are hard at work in training camp ahead of the 2026 NFL season. Kansas City is trying to get back into Super Bowl contention following a down season in 2025. George Karlaftis and his teammates know they have the talent; it’s all about putting things together on the football field.

Kansas City knows they need to play better than it did a year ago. There is too much talent not to be in the playoffs every single season. Karlaftis spoke about the improvement he’s seen in training camp so far and expressed appreciation for the Chiefs’ training camp process.

“Every year it’s a little bit of a gut check. As I get older, I get to appreciate it more and more. It’s all football, all day, no distractions. You can see it, the improvements from the young guys basically focusing on this and nothing else. It makes you a better player, honestly. So I love coming here,” the star edge rusher said, via NFL Network.

Karlaftis has been at the forefront of this Kansas City defense for some time now. A first-round pick in 2022, he has emerged as the team’s best edge rusher. He was second on the Chiefs in sacks last season, recording six, one behind Chris Jones’s seven. Karlaftis has recorded at least six sacks in each of his four seasons in the NFL.

The Chiefs have lofty goals this year, and they believe they are putting in the work that will carry them far. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out on the field, beginning in Week 1, when Kansas City hosts the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.

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