Chiefs Injury Update: Good News and Bad News for WRs
The Kansas City Chiefs have provided their first official injury report since arriving in Arizona in preparation for Super Bowl LVII, and it's mostly good news for the Chiefs, with one noteworthy exception.
In Wednesday evening's injury report, six players with injury designations were listed as full participants in Wednesday's practice: quarterback Patrick Mahomes (ankle), wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee), linebacker Willie Gay Jr. (shoulder), running back Jerick McKinnon (ankles), running back Isiah Pacheco (wrist) and guard Trey Smith (ankle). One player was a limited participant: wide receiver Kadarius Toney (ankle/hamstring).
What does this update mean for Super Bowl LVII?
While Mahomes admitted that he's not 100% as of Wednesday, his full participation (which has been consistent since suffering his high ankle sprain against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round) is another positive note as the Super Bowl approaches.
"It's going to be definitely better, more mobile," Mahomes said Wednesday. "We'll see on game day just how close to 100% I'll be."
The best update for the Chiefs is the full participation status of Smith-Schuster, who was dealing with knee swelling. On the Thursday of the Super Bowl bye week, Reid said the team had a clear first step to getting Smith-Schuster back: "The main thing is that we let that [knee swelling] calm down. And right now, it’s doing great, so [I’m] very optimistic right now."
Reid's optimism has now made it to the practice report, which is a great sign for the Chiefs. Meanwhile, McKinnon, Pacheco and Smith should all be expected to take their usual snaps on Sunday, with all three playing key roles in the Chiefs' offense. But what about Toney?
Going back to last Thursday, Reid said Toney was "close and doing well," pointing out that he also participated in walkthroughs that Thursday. Meanwhile, Reid has said that the full active roster was participating in practice all week, including Toney, though Reid's statements never came with a full or limited designation.
The bottom line
Keep an eye on the practice status of Smith-Schuster, with hopes that he won't be set back to limited status later in the week due to the potential of more swelling in his knee. Don't assume Toney suffered a setback due to his limited participation on Wednesday, as he's likely been limited in the team's practices without official health designations. However, if Toney doesn't reach full participation status by Friday, it leaves room for concern that he may be limited in Super Bowl LVII, with the ever-present potential for the type of early exit that decimated KC's wide receiver group in the AFC Championship Game.
