Alex Magee, Shaun Smith, Dion Gales and rookie Jeffrey Fitzgerald of Kansas State got some starters’ snaps on the defensive line.  Andy Studebaker and Pierre Walters took some turns at linebacker.

On the offensive side, Casey Wiegmann replaced Rudy Niswanger for some snaps at center and Barry Richardson stood in for Ryan O’Callaghan at right tackle.

Not a huge surprise on the offensive side of the ball.

We should see Wiegmann and Niswanger go back and forth through most of training camp in what should be a great battle to watch.  I don’t see Richardson as a guy that will push O’Callaghan for the starting job so much as Todd Haley and Charlie Weis making sure he’s prepared if needed.

The names popping up on defense are much more intriguing.

Magee was mostly invisible during his rookie year, which isn’t a shock considering the learning curve for defensive linemen.  Could he be one of these players ready to take a huge leap forward his sophomore year?  Magee showed a special sort of versatility during his time at Purdue that could get him on the field plenty in Romeo Crennel’s system.

Smith and Gales will need to help out Ron Edwards at nose, especially if Glenn Dorsey isn’t going to get much run inside.

Two guys to watch closely once the pads go on are Fitzgerald at defensive end and Walters at outside linebacker.

I would argue that Fitzgerald is the most athletic lineman (on either side of the ball) that the Chiefs have.  We don’t know just how that will translate to the field, but when it clicked during his time at Virginia and Kansas State, Fitzgerald was very impressive.

We saw a little (okay, very little) of Walters last year, but don’t overlook the fact that he stuck on the roster from start to finish last season and an undrafted free agent.  That’s something draft picks Quinten Lawrence and Javarris Williams weren’t able to do.  Like Fitzgerald, Walters brings a unique set of physical gifts to the table that could be a huge addition to the defense if he can take a big step in his second season.

Players were shuffling in and out of the rotation on a constant basis.  Noteworthy changes to the first-team for Thursday included Barry Richardson working at right tackle, Casey Wiegmann going at center and Dexter McCluster becoming the first rookie not named Eric Berry to “start” a team period on either side of the football.

As practice moved on, a multitude of other players repped with first-team personnel.

Note that Haley has stated throughout OTAs that spring depth charts can change daily for a multitude of reasons.  Take it with a grain of salt.

Take it with as much salt as you want, but nothing should be ignored — even in May.

After the Chiefs failed to draft a tackle to compete with Ryan O’Callaghan on the right side, Richardson seems like the best option to push him for playing time, especially with Ike Ndukwe seemingly sticking to guard.

In the battle for the starting center job, it’s never too early to note which player is logging more time with the first time.  For now the incumbent starter Rudy Niswanger is leading, but Wiegmann has plenty of time to get a larger share of the snaps with Matt Cassel.

Richardson was a sixth round pick of the Chiefs in 2008 and appeared in 6 games last season.  He spent the first five weeks of this season on the Kansas City practice squad.

To make room for Richardson on the roster, the Chiefs released LB Justin Rogers.  He has just been signed to the team on Wednesday.

Easy decision to make for the Chiefs as Rogers had barely been in town long enough to check into his hotel and the offensive line is dealing with multiple injury problems.  Brandon Albert is out at left tackle with Wade Smith filling in for him and two of the reserve linemen (Ike Ndukwe and Andy Alleman) are nicked up.

Richardson had a terrible preseason — though he did show a little promise his rookie season — and will have to prove a lot on the field Sunday to bump either Ndukwe or Alleman off the roster.  More likely than not he will be back on the practice squad as soon as Albert is healthy enough to play.

The Chiefs added seven players to the practice squad: CB Jackie Bates, TE Tom Crabtree, DE Dion Gales, DE Bobby Greenwood, G Darryl Harris, RB Javarris Williams and WR Rodney Wright.

The team also waived OT Barry Richardson to make room for Ryan O’Callaghan.  The team claimed O’Callaghan off waivers earlier in the day.

A good group of players on the practice squad for the Chiefs to keep around and it leaves them one extra spot to work through as teams continue adding and cutting players.

It’s about time Richardson got his walking papers.  I was surprised he survived the first two rounds of cuts after he spent most of the preseason games on his backside.  I have to imagine that O’Callaghan will immediately become the starting right tackle, barring the Chiefs picking up a guy like Tony Pashos.

Tyler Thigpen and G Tavares Washington returned to practice after missing all of last week’s sessions.  Sitting out this morning were Kolby Smith and Zach Thomas.

For the first time since he joined the Chiefs during training camp, Tyson Jackson is working with the No. 1 defense.  He took the place of Alfonso Boone at LDE.

Barry Richardson continued to take reps with the first team offense at right tackle.

Terrance Copper and Devard Darling lined up as the starting wide receivers.

The second team offensive line (left to right): Herb Taylor, Darryl Harris, Wade Smith, Tavares Washington and Damion McIntosh.

Todd Haley kept a watchful eye on the nose tackles during the inside run drills, commenting on each player after each snap, both positive and constructive.

Maurice Leggett pulled double-duty on the punt team.  He took reps as return man and running gunner on the coverage unit.  Working alongside Leggett returning kicks were Dantrell Savage and Rodney Wright.

Leggett also was right in the middle of the 11-on-11 session, picking off a deflected pass from Matt Gutierrez.

During the situation period, the Chiefs worked on a quick kick out of a field goal formation.  Ryan Succop had one of his punts roll to the goal line and the other went out of bounds around the eight-yard line.

During the goal line portion of practice, the defense pulled Larry Johnson down on the first play and forced a fumble by Kolby Smith on the second.  On the third, Johnson went up-and-over a pile of defenders to stretch the ball across the goal line.  The football came loose and the defense labeled it a fumble while the offense called it a touchdown.  Too close to call.

With roster spots starting to be — slowly — sorted out, good to see only two players missing from practice.  With as well as Matt Gutierrez played on Friday you had to know Thigpen wouldn’t be on the sidelines much longer.  He is looking more and more like a long shot to make the roster and that’s a shame.  I still think he’s the best option to backup Matt Cassel.

The only thing I can figure from Richardson still running with the first team offense at right tackle is due to a lack of other options.  The right side of the line as a whole got blown up against the Vikings, but I saw Richardson on his backside more than once.  The problem is there aren’t any better options currently on the roster.  For a while I thought Herb Taylor could be the player to line up opposite Branden Albert, but Haley and Scott Pioli clearly disagree.