After missing the past two weeks with a wrist injury, the Kansas City Chiefs expect to have their top pass-rusher back in the lineup for Week 7.
According to a late-night report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs are expected to have Chris Jones back against the Tennessee Titans. That’s big news for Kansas City, who’ve struggled to get consistent pressure on the quarterback at times this season.
In two games against the Titans in 2019, Jones posted 10 total tackles, two sacks, one tackle for loss, three QB hits and one forced fumble. He has a history of being productive against this opponent, both stopping the run and rushing the passer.
#Chiefs star DE Chris Jones, who has missed the last couple weeks with a wrist injury, is expected to play today despite being questionable, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 24, 2021
The big question heading into this game will be about Jones’ position. He’s been listed on the depth chart at defensive end and has played a considerable amount of snaps on the outside this season. An All-Pro at defensive tackle the past two years running, there has been some speculation that Jones could move back to the defensive interior this week.
Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo weighed in on the topic on Thursday.
“I’m not sure where we’ll be with that yet, but he has been inside,” Spagnuolo said of Jones. “Most of it’s been 3rd down and maybe some 2nd and long. So, he hasn’t lost all the reps in there. What’s been hard is because of the injury. He hasn’t been out there doing either or. So, we’ll see where he’s at by the end of the week, but we like moving Chris [Jones] around. Sometimes that’s dictated by the down and distance and how the play is going and other things.”
It’s possible that he could play more frequently on the inside in order to get him on the field with Mike Danna and Frank Clark at the same time. We’ll see how much he manages to do in his first game back, with only limited participation in practice twice this week.
