Chiefs Injury Updates Ahead of Week 9 Game Against Titans
After a week off to recharge, refresh and hit the reset button for a bit, the Kansas City Chiefs will be back in action on Sunday Night Football this week. As the Tennessee Titans come rolling into town, the hosts have some good news on the injury front.
Throughout the week, the Chiefs' injury report was rather clean. Numerous players were full participants in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, including defensive end Mike Danna (calf) and wide receiver Mecole Hardman (heel). Rookie first-round cornerback Trent McDuffie (hamstring) was also a full participant on both days and got officially activated off the injured reserve list following Kansas City's trade of veteran defensive back Rashad Fenton. Elsewhere, however, there were a couple of concerns to keep an eye on.
On Wednesday, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was a limited participant in practice with a hamstring injury. Luckily for both Gay and the Chiefs, he was able to fully participate on Thursday. On the opposite side of the ball, tight end Jody Fortson missed consecutive practices on Wednesday and Thursday with what's being listed as a quad and illness combination.
On Friday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid took the podium and provided some updates on the team's injury outlook heading into Sunday's game. He started by ruling out Fortson, but he added that new wide receiver acquisition Kadarius Toney (not on the injury report) would likely be good to go.
Additionally, Reid was extremely optimistic about McDuffie being active for Sunday night's game. Considering that Kansas City didn't have the likes of Danna and McDuffie for a good chunk of its early-season slate, getting both impact players back in the fold should serve as a boost for Steve Spagnuolo's defense. The bye week appears to have arrived at a near-perfect time for the Chiefs, as they're now in a good spot health-wise heading into Week 9's AFC battle.
A brief aside: Offensive tackle Lucas Niang will continue to work his way back from a patellar tendon injury suffered in Week 17 of last season that saw him begin the 2022 campaign on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Niang returned to practice earlier this week, thus opening a 21-day window that will end in him either being activated to the 53-man roster or going on the season-ending injured reserve. Because he has yet to be activated, Niang doesn't appear on the injury report. Tight end Blake Bell, who is still rehabbing from a hip injury and remains on IR, is also off the report.
