Az-Zahir Hakim hiked his white socks up to his knees, put on Johnnie Morton’s old No. 80 and went to his first practice as a Chief on Wednesday. And at the end of the workout, coach Dick Vermeil did his best to squash any Hakim hype, floating the possibility that his old friend might not even make the team.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” Vermeil said. “Let him take care of it. Let his performance on the practice field take care of it. And I’m confident it will.”

You want confidence? Hakim was halfway through his first interview session in Kansas City when he referred to himself in the third person. He talked about his seven weeks of unemployment, how he went home to San Diego after being cut by Detroit and had no doubt he’d land with another NFL team.