[Kansas City.com] Willie Roaf and Will Shields may not be fine pieces of china destined to break into thousands of worthless pieces at the first hint of contact.

But the Chiefs are handling their two veteran offensive linemen that way this offseason, so both ambled out to practice Tuesday shortly before the session ended. Shields observed while Roaf ran some sprints under the watchful eye of conditioning coach Billy Long.

When he was finished, Roaf gave some thanks for his excused practice absences, something predictable from a 35-year-old with occasionally balky knees.

“They know Will and I have been playing for a long time,” said Roaf, the starting left tackle. “We’ve both played a lot of games. We’ve played a lot of football. The main thing they want us to do is work out at the gym.”