EmailPrintST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs rookie receiver Cyrus Allen sustained a lower left leg injury Saturday during a special teams drill.While the Chiefs worked on pooch punts, Allen, a gunner on the repetition, collided with cornerback Kaiir Elam, the other gunner. Both players were trying to catch the ball in front of the goal line. Elam was able to get up and walk away, but Allen stayed down with his helmet buried into the turf. Two staffers then helped Allen get into a cart. While leaving the field in the front of the cart, a disappointed-looking Allen shook his head and put his jersey over his face."I hate to see somebody get hurt, especially on a special teams drill," said Dave Toub, the Chiefs' special teams coordinator. "We'll see how he is. He's really doing well on offense and he's doing well for me, too. He's at gunner and returner and he's doing a real good job, putting himself in a good position to be a guy that's going to help us this year."A fifth-round pick, Allen had emerged as one of the Chiefs' top developments in the opening week of training camp. Allen led all receivers in Friday's practice with five catches during the projected starters' 11-on-11 repetitions, demonstrating that the rookie was starting to build a strong connection with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The best highlight from Allen was when Mahomes threw a perfect intermediate pass Friday, placing the ball between three defenders. Allen wowed fans by making a leaping, outstretched one-handed catch. Even when safety Alohi Gilman attempted to punch the ball out with his right hand, Allen maintained control when he landed on the turf.Although Allen elevated himself to the No. 4 receiver role on the depth chart, Toub explained that all the Chiefs' rookies are expected to participate in all special teams drills."Anytime you have a rookie, everybody is on special teams until they aren't, until they establish themselves, whether it's a starter on offense or defense," Toub said. "Then you have to kind of pull back and maybe take them off two or three phases. But initially, everybody starts as a four-phase guy. That's just the way we do it. It's worked over the years."
