Chiefs vs. Texans Injuries and Inactives: Who's In, Who's Out for Divisional Round?

With the divisional round of the playoffs arriving, the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans have decided who won't play on Saturday.

Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; /Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman (17) runs for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Just like that, the Kansas City Chiefs are back for another game. After a first-round playoff bye, the reigning Super Bowl champions will host the Houston Texans in a divisional round outing on Saturday.

With some key players resting in Week 18's regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos, the bye added even more time for the Chiefs to recuperate. Andy Reid's team is in a fantastic spot health-wise, which hasn't always been the case this season. The Texans, on the other hand, have some players attempting to fight through the pain but still aren't quite at 100% for the second round of the postseason. Injuries will undoubtedly – and unfortunately – factor into the game.

With that in mind, here's who's inactive for Kansas City and Houston in Saturday's matchup.

Kansas City Chiefs inactives vs. Houston Texans

• S Deon Bush
• CB Keith Taylor
• DE Joshua Uche
• OL C.J. Hanson
• OT Wanya Morris
• OT Ethan Driskell
• DE Malik Herring

As far as inactives are concerned, there are no major surprises for Kansas City. The biggest Chiefs names this week are those who don't appear on the list.

The defensive side of the ball, specifically, gets two major pieces back. In the secondary, cornerback Jaylen Watson was officially activated off the injured reserve list on Friday and will make his first appearance since Week 7's loss to the San Francisco 49ers. In addition to him returning from injury, All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones is back after an absence due to a calf ailment suffered in Week 16's meeting between these two squads. Steve Spagnuolo's group gets a boost at the perfect time.

Wide receiver Mecole Hardman is the key name among those who will miss the divisional round. The veteran pass catcher was a limited participant in practice throughout the week and despite continuing to make progress, he was originally listed as doubtful and later got downgraded to out on the club's injury report. He isn't on today's inactives list because he's still on IR.

Safety Chamarri Conner is back following a shoulder injury suffered in Week 18. Left tackle D.J. Humphries carried no designation into the weekend but will back up Joe Thuney, who is starting in his place to kick off the Chiefs' postseason run. With Humphries good to go, Morris will head to the bench as an inactive.

Houston Texans inactives vs. Kansas City Chiefs

• RB J.J. Taylor
• LB Devin White
• DE Jerry Hughes
• C/G Kendrick Green
• OG Nick Broeker
• DT Kurt Hinish

The Texans' final injury report carried four names as questionable for the divisional round. On the offensive side of the ball, running back Joe Mixon (ankle) headlined a list that also featured wide receiver Robert Woods (hip) and tight end Teagan Quitoriano (calf). On defense, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was bothered by a knee inury at practice all week. Luckily for Houston, all of the aforementioned names will give it a go on Saturday afternoon.

Read More: Chiefs vs. Texans Preview – Dominance or Doom for KC in Divisional Round of Playoffs?