The Kansas City Chiefs were back at work on Thursday ahead of their Week 16 clash with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke with the media ahead of practice to give his typical update on injured players.
The team is still dealing with some illnesses and some players who have been battling through injuries are sitting out of the first practice to start the week.
“Alright, we’ve got a couple of guys who are sick,” Reid said.
“Nick Bolton is sick and Cam Jones is sick. We had a couple (of sick players) last week, so we went through all of that.
Then, (Jerick) McKinnon with the groin (injury) won’t practice today. (Kadarius) Toney with the hip strain won’t practice today.”
There was, of course, some good injury-related news as the team gets prepped for their penultimate AFC West game of the 2023 NFL season.
The Chiefs welcomed back three offensive players on the practice field on Thursday.
The most notable is WR Mecole Hardman, who was placed on injured reserve in Week 12 with a thumb injury.
He’s been designated to return from injured reserve, opening up his practice window.
He’ll be out there,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said. “He’s got 21 days, I think it is.
So, he’ll be out there today and get some work in. We’ll just see what he does.”
Reid will have 21 days to decide whether they’ll activate Hardman to the 53-man roster.
He could be back in the fold as early as this week or the team could decide to take their time.
In addition to Hardman, RB Isiah Pacheco was back at practice, as expected.
He’ll be in line to regain his starting role on offense in Week 16 should he not suffer a setback during the practice week.
Donovan Smith is another returning player on offense.
He’s missed the past two games with a neck injury (stinger).
It’s unclear if Smith will retake the starting job from rookie LT Wanya Morris, who has filled in during his absence.
