The tough stretch of practice in St. Joe finally got to everyone, and it showed on the field Saturday. While Andy Reid probably wasn’t counting on needing a peacekeeper on the practice field, he himself had to step in along with Patrick Mahomes. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback was caught separating teammates after a drill became heated and turned into an actual fight during the Chiefs’ sixth consecutive day of practice.

“Skirmish just broke out. Not sure how it started, but it involved Kingsley Suamataia throwing a punch and Felix Anudike-Uzomah without his helmet. Nearly erupted a second time before Mahomes stepped between them,” Matt Derrick posted on X.

The scrap between Kingsley Suamataia and Felix Anudike-Uzomah started on an 11-on-11 rep during Saturday’s practice at Missouri Western State University. Anudike-Uzomah bull-rushed the left guard, then eased off partway through the play. Suamataia didn’t like that and shoved him. Anudike-Uzomah kept engaging him after the play, and Suamataia swung on him with his right hand. And Anudike-Uzomah’s helmet came off during the scuffle.

Undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson stepped in to hold Anudike-Uzomah back as he came at Suamataia again, and both Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid moved in to help break it up. Defensive line coach Joe Cullen eventually pulled Anudike-Uzomah off the field and walked him to the sideline, though he was back out there within a few minutes.

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Mahomes didn’t seem too worried about it afterward.

“Six straight days going against the same guys,” he told reporters. “It’s being competitive. That’s what’s great about this camp. It’s super competitive, on both sides. Little scuffles here and there, but nothing crazy. As long as we keep it like that and keep competing, that’s how you get the best football team you can get.”

Derrick had his own read on who broke it up.

“I didn’t see Andy Reid putting his body between Kingsley and Felix. I did see DL coach Joe Cullen yank Felix off the field.” He later corrected himself, though, confirming Reid was out there too, along with some other coaches.

That wasn’t the only scuffle of the day. By the tail end of practice, the starters were grinding through the long-drive period when running back Kenneth Walker III hit his breaking point with safety Alohi Gilman.

Walker thought Gilman had come in harder than the play called for on a run near the sideline. Once the whistle blew, Gilman got right up in his face, mask to mask, then shoved him. Walker didn’t hesitate. He fired the ball at Gilman and dove into him, and it took a handful of teammates to pry the two apart.

Walker’s frustration wasn’t hard to understand. He’d already been the workhorse on a bunch of plays before that moment, and by then the heat and fatigue were catching up to everybody.

“How about that 16-play long drive?” assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Dave Toub said to reporters after practice. “That’s how you know it’s hot,” he said. “That happens. It’s football sometimes.”

Bottom line, as camp keeps grinding on, tempers are starting to match the summer heat.