The Kansas City Chiefs will be missing three major contributors on offense because of injuries, and the Las Vegas Raiders expect to have Josh Jacobs back on the field, when the longtime AFC West rivals meet at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday.
The Chiefs on Saturday ruled out embattled wide receiver Kadarius Toney with a hip injury, along with third-down back Jerick McKinnon because of a groin injury and left tackle Donovan Smith, who will miss his third consecutive game with a neck injury.
The Chiefs put Skyy Moore on injured reserve earlier this week with a knee injury, so the loss of Toney further depletes a receiver corps that has struggled all season.
Toney in particular has had a rough year — among his many drops have been two that were picked off, and his offsides penalty negated a go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes of a loss to the Bills.
Kansas City coach Andy Reid said this week that he expects Richie James, who has played primarily on special teams, to be more involved in the offense.
Justin Watson should also see an uptick in snaps without Moore or Toney available.
“(James) is good in the slot,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said this week.
“When you’re in the slot, you want to be able to have a feel for defenses and zones, you’ve got to beat man inside and outside leverage.
He’s done a good job. He went through some injuries and got back. I think he’s handled his situation as a true professional.”
One wide receiver the Chiefs hope to get back soon is Mecole Hardman, who has been on injured reserve with a thumb issue.
He began practicing this week, opening a 21-day window in which Kansas City can activate him or end his season, but he was ruled out for the game against the Raiders on Christmas Day.
The Chiefs did get some positive injury news in that Isiah Pacheco practiced fully this week and will return from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the past two games.
He ran for 118 yards and a score against Green Bay his last time out.
“Yeah, I think it’ll be a full workload,” Reid said Saturday, “but with that, we’ve got backup relief if he needs to come out. Clyde (Edwards-Helaire), I mean, we’ve got all kinds of confidence in Clyde stepping in.”
