Chiefs vs. Texans Injuries and Inactives: Who's In, Who's Out for Week 16?

With Week 16 arriving, the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans have decided who won't play on Saturday afternoon.

Sep 15, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Chamarri Conner (27) recovers a fumble and runs in for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Following a big win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 15, the Kansas City Chiefs had a quick turnaround for Saturday's game against the Houston Texans. Unfortunately for the reigning Super Bowl champs, there's an even shorter span on the horizon following this weekend's game.

With Andy Reid's team playing on Christmas Day against the Pittsburgh Steelers, health and recovery must be priorities right now. Getting out of Saturday's contest with no setbacks would be a good first step. Kansas City and Houston enter Week 16 already banged up and will need all the help they can get from those who are available for a meeting between two AFC playoff squads.

With that in mind, here's who's inactive for Kansas City and Houston in Week 16's matchup.

Kansas City Chiefs inactives vs. Houston Texans

• DB Chamarri Conner
• DE Joshua Uche
• OL C.J. Hanson
• OT D.J. Humphries
• OT Ethan Driskell
• DT Marlon Tuipulotu
• DE Malik Herring

The biggest pieces of injury-related news for the Chiefs are centered around players who are active for Week 16. After suffering a high-ankle sprain in last Sunday's win, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was a full participant in every practice this week and will play through the pain on Saturday. He'll have a new weapon in the fold, as wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown is activated from the injured reserve list and will make his regular-season debut. Linebacker Leo Chenal, who was a Friday addition to the injury report with an illness, is expected to give it a go against visiting Houston.

Two significant pieces of the lineup were ruled out in advance of Saturday's game. At left tackle, Humphries continues to recover from a hamstring injury suffered late in Week 14's win over the Los Angeles Chargers. It's reasonable to anticipate left guard Joe Thuney once again getting the nod and sliding over to replace him. On defense, Conner couldn't clear concussion protocol after missing practice this week. He'll likely be replaced by some combination of cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Christian Roland-Wallace.

Elsewhere, there aren't any serious surprises for the Chiefs this weekend. Players like Hanson, Driskell, Tuipulotu and others have frequently been listed here on game day. Despite defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo recently expressing a desire to get Uche involved, the in-season trade pickup is a healthy scratch again for this game.

Houston Texans inactives vs. Kansas City Chiefs

• WR John Metchie III
• LB Devin White
• DE Jerry Hughes
• OG Nick Broeker
• C/G Juice Scruggs
• TE Cade Stover
• DT Folorunso Fatukasi

Prior to Week 16's contest in Kansas City, the Texans ruled out four players and deemed another one questionable. Metchie (shoulder), Scruggs (foot), Stover (illness) and Fatukasi (ankle) all missed practice this week and were predictably deemed unable to go on Saturday. Linebacker Christian Harris, who missed Thursday's practice with an ankle ailment, is good to go.

Read More: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans – Week 16 Preview, Score Predictions