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KANSAS CITY -- The first day of Kansas City Chiefs minicamp marked the return of several veteran defenders missing from offseason voluntary training activities. Safety Eric Berry, linebacker Justin Houston and cornerback Marcus Peters took their customary positions in the starting lineup after bypassing all 10 OTA practices during the last three weeks. Linebacker Dee Ford, who attended the first four OTA practices, also returned to the field.
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Berry said training at home away from Kansas City provides him better focus and an opportunity to train on his own timetable.
"A lot of times you try to go too hard sometimes," Berry said. "I'm not saying that's the case here, but with certain things I just wanted to get away from the game or reflect on things I needed to work on and be around my family."
Houston agreed, saying he prefers training by himself or with a smaller group.
"If I'm messing up, I'm doing something wrong, I want to be corrected," Houston said. "I want to be perfect in everything I do."
Peters said he followed the same regimen he used since his dismissal from the Washington Huskies program during his final college season. He returned home to the Bay Area, training at Empire gym in San Francisco and at his high school in Oakland.
Quarterback Alex Smith said having the trio of starters back brings the team together.
"They're a huge part of not just the defense but our team in the locker room," Smith said. "Good to have them back. Other than that though, it's just ball, coming out there and playing."
With temperatures in Kansas City soaring into the 90s, attitudes heated up on the field as well. The return of the defensive veterans added a competitive fire missing from much of OTA practices.
"We're on the same team, but it's like having a house full of brothers," Berry said. "You're all going to fight inside the house, you're all going to wrestle, you're all going to argue, you're all going to talk smack."
Peters said the competitive spirit on the field stems from the organization's sky-high expectations of Super Bowl or bust in 2017.
"We got a mentality, man, we're trying to win a Super Bowl," Peters said. "So it's going to be high."
--Justin Houston spent much of the last two seasons battling a balky left knee, but the 29-year-old linebacker finally feels primed for returning to his All-Pro pass-rushing form.
"I feel great now," Houston said. "Last year I couldn't even run at this time so it's night and day difference. I feel great to be able to just get up and go without even thinking about it."
Houston terrorized opposing quarterbacks before the knee injury slowed him down. He collected 22 sacks in the 2014 season had 7.5 sacks in the first nine games of 2015 before a hyperextended knee led to a recurring health battle keeping him off the field for 16 regular-season games the past two years.
Now the seventh-year veteran feels ready to dominate opposing offensive tackles once again.
"Like I've said before, the day I feel like I can't get better is the day I'm going retire," Houston said. "I know there's plenty I can get better at and be more consistent every game and every play, and just continue to get better in all phases."
Houston did show some rust on his first day of practice, however. He dropped into coverage and perfectly read an Alex Smith pass for a sure interception, only to see the ball fly directly through his outstretched hands.
The veteran dropped to the ground and performed 10 push-ups, the penalty for dropping an easy pick.
"If that happened in a game, I don't know what I'm going to do," Houston said. "I'm going to get a flag acting like a fool. You can't drop something that easy. You got to make a play like that."
--The Chiefs opened their mandatory minicamp with a full house including every player on the 90-man roster. But several players recovering from injury remain on the sidelines.
Linebacker Derrick Johnson, just six months removed from a ruptured Achilles tendon, appears close to returning to action. The 34-year-old Johnson's has a self-imposed goal of hitting the practice field in time for training camp, and indications suggest he remains ahead of schedule.
Johnson largely observed practices during OTAs, but he participated in individual drills during the first day of minicamp. His progress impresses fellow linebacker Justin Houston.
"I felt like he could have been out there with us through the whole practice," Houston said. "He looked great, looked fast. Felt good to see him out there."
Tight end Travis Kelce, recuperating from offseason shoulder surgery, remains on the sidelines as an observer. Head coach Andy Reid said before the beginning of offseason workouts he expected Kelce back during training camp.
Left guard Parker Ehinger, who suffered a torn ACL Oct. 30, remains on the sidelines as well. He's joined by linebacker Dadi Nicolas, who sustained a ruptured patellar tendon in the regular-season finale against San Diego. Linebacker D.J. Alexander also sat out the first minicamp workout with an undisclosed injury.
-- Eric Berry's giving spirit made him a social media darling last week when a Facebook post mentioning his gesture to three homeless persons in Knoxville, Tenn., went viral.
Berry approached the trio and asked if they were hungry. He then visited a nearby restaurant and placed a to-go order. One of the restaurant's patrons shared the story on Facebook.
"I asked them what they wanted, got it, brought it back," Berry said. "One of the guys asked me to pray for him, so I just prayed for him."
Berry said he has carried out the same act of kindness many times in the past.
"I've been doing that since I was in college," Berry said. "That's just something I learned from my parents. They always talked about how blessed you are and always taking other people into consideration."
The 28-year-old Berry said he prefers receiving no attention for such gestures, but understands if others draw motivation from it.
"If somebody looks at it and is like, 'Hey, maybe I should help feed a homeless person today,' or something like that, it's cool, but I'm not doing it for the attention," Berry said. "I just do it because I feel like that's what you're supposed to do when you got the chance."
