KC Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos Week 6 Injuries and Inactives: Travis Kelce, George Karlaftis Latest
The Kansas City Chiefs have won 15 consecutive games against the Denver Broncos and on Thursday Night Football, there's an opportunity to extend the streak to 16.
Andy Reid's squad stumbled out of the gate with an opening night loss to the Detroit Lions but has quickly recovered, winning four games in a row since Week 1. Sean Payton's Denver group, on the other hand, stumbled and proceeded to fall down. The Broncos are 1-4 through five games and face a monumental task if they want to salvage the 2023 campaign somehow.
As expected, neither team is fully healthy now that the season is over a month in. Both clubs had several limited participants in practice during the week, with a few players even being ruled out before Week 6's game. With kickoff approaching, Kansas City and Denver have decided who will and will not be suiting up on Thursday night.
With that in mind, ahead of their matchup back at home, the Chiefs' list of inactive players has been released. Here's who won't suit up for Kansas City:
- CB Nic Jones
- DE BJ Thompson
- OL Mike Caliendo
- DT Neil Farrell
- DT Keondre Coburn
The Chiefs didn't practice on Monday, leading to the team releasing an estimated injury report. On that list, tight end Travis Kelce was designated as a "did not participate" with a low-ankle sprain suffered in last week's win over the Minnesota Vikings. Additionally, defensive end George Karlaftis was limited with a hamstring injury. Both players were limited in practice to end the week, and punter Tommy Townsend joined them on Wednesday with a left knee ailment.
Despite their injuries, all three players will be active for Week 6. James Palmer of NFL Network reported on Thursday afternoon that a pitch count could be "most likely" in play for Karlaftis, with Adam Schefter of ESPN reporting about a half-hour prior that Kelce was expected to play "with his sprained ankle heavily taped."
This also means the Chiefs will see the return of linebacker Nick Bolton, who did not receive an injury designation ahead of tonight's game.
The Broncos' inactives have also been released:
- OLB Frank Clark
- S JL Skinner
- OLB Thomas Incoom
- C Alex Forsyth
- DT D.J. Jones
- DL Elijah Garcia
Three members of the Broncos were ruled out on Wednesday afternoon: defensive tackle D.J. Jones (knee), linebacker Baron Browning (knee) and pass rusher Frank Clark (illness). The most notable name in that group is Clark, who spent the last four seasons with Kansas City before departing for Denver during the offseason. His days with his new team appear to be numbered, and being scratched from Week 6's lineup after missing practice all week doesn't bode particularly well for that timeline dragging out too long.
