Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman George Karlaftis addressed a pool of reporters after the first training camp practice on Tuesday at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. He opened up about the veteran players who helped him reach this point in his career, and he is now trying to pay it forward to the younger players.

“I was extremely fortunate – most of you probably remember me. Three years ago, probably around today, I had a guy called Frank Clark, and he was out here with me every single day after practice. And I’ve been fortunate enough to knowAshton (Gillotte) for a couple of years now and working with him and trying to pass down the torch,” said Karlaftis. “Kind of like Frank (Clark) to me, Carlos (Dunlap), Chris (Jones), all those guys. I had my rookie year. That’s really what it’s about, you know, figuring it out as you go (and) it makes it a lot easier when you got a guy who wants the best for you.and is genuine about your success and all that stuff. I was so fortunate to be a rookie and have some great vets, and I just hope I can do my part in developing these young guys.”

Advertisement

Over the past weekend, Karlaftis agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Chiefs, which will be worth a maximum of $93 million. He continued to praise his veterans and hopes to pass on the same logic to the younger players on the roster.

“That’s really what it’s about—figuring it out as you go. It makes it a lot easier when you’ve got a guy that wants the best for you and is genuine about, you know, your success and all that stuff,” said Karlaftis. “I was so fortunate to be a rookie and have some great vets. And I just hope I can do my part in developing these young guys.”

During his first three regular seasons with the Chiefs, Karlaftis has recorded 115 combined tackles, 24.5 sacks, 15 passes defensed, and one forced fumble.

This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Chiefs DL George Karlaftis praises veteran teammates for success