Before their practice week begins and they prepare for their Week 16 matchup with the Raiders, Kansas City had a flurry of injury updates.
In preparation for their Christmas Day game against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs have returned to practice. There are a lot of injuries occurring as we begin Week 16’s practice week.
In a Thursday morning press conference, head coach Andy Reid gave an update on a number of players who are either on the roster but are sidelined or on the injured reserve list.
Mecole Hardman is expected back, and practice starts on Thursday.
Mecole Hardman, a wide receiver who has been out of the lineup for almost a month, is scheduled to participate in some kind of practice on Thursday afternoon. The fifth-year wide receiver sustained a thumb injury in November that necessitated surgery and a prolonged recovery period away from the field. Hardman has a 21-day window during which he can practise and be assessed by the team, but he will be on IR until he is activated back to the 53-man roster.
Hardman, acquired from the New York Jets over the offseason, hasn’t produced much in his second season in Kansas City. He has eight receptions for 41 yards, one rushing attempt for three yards, a 14-yard kick return, and seven punt returns for 61 yards in his four games with the Chiefs this season. Hardman should have a position ready for him when he exits injured reserve, even though the wideout room lacks some demonstrated experience and pace.
Several Chiefs are expected to skip practice on Thursday.
Four players on the active roster won’t be in the office on Thursday, according to Reid. Both Cam Jones and Nick Bolton, linebackers, missed practice in the afternoon due to illness.In other news, wide receiver Kadarius Toney is sidelined due to a hip strain, and running back Jerick McKinnon is sidelined due to a groyne issue.
Bolton and Jones’ illnesses aren’t known to be serious, but they should be able to recover and go back to practice this week. For the most part, McKinnon has been dealing with the aforementioned groyne injury, and Kansas City usually reduces his workload during the week to help keep him fresh. Despite appearing frequently on the team’s injury list, Toney has participated in all but one of the games this season. It is important to keep an eye on McKinnon and Toney’s participation designations throughout the week.
Information about Isiah Pacheco and Skyy Moore
After sustaining a knee injury during Sunday’s victory over the New England Patriots, wide receiver Skyy Moore was placed on injured reserve on Monday. Although the Divisional Round is the earliest the second-year pass-catcher can return, Reid suggested there’s a chance he’ll be back for the postseason. That also suggests that the Chiefs participate in the playoffs through the Wild Card round, thus obtaining a first-round bye might make matters more difficult. Before being activated from injured reserve, Moore must miss four games.
Isiah Pacheco, a running back, will resume practice on Thursday, after a two-week break from the starting lineup. The sophomore halfback was out for a while due to a shoulder ailment that needed to be cleaned up. Reid stated that although he thinks Pacheco will have a “full workload” in Monday’s game, he has complete faith in Clyde Edwards-Helaire to fill in for him as needed.
