The Kansas City Chiefs have protected a pair of players on the practice squad ahead of their Week 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kansas City protected CB Dicaprio Bootle and DE Demone Harris according to the NFL’s personnel notice for Wednesday. This marks the first time that the Chiefs have used practice squad protections this season.
Teams are permitted to protect up to four players on the practice squad each week per NFL rules. Unprotected players are free to leave the team to sign to another team’s active roster. Those who are protected are not permitted to sign with other teams.
If the 2020 season is any indication, the Chiefs tend to protect the players that they’re considering elevating for their upcoming game. That would make a lot of sense this time around given the injuries that Kansas City is currently dealing with.
CB Rashad Fenton, who is the team’s backup nickel corner, is in the NFL’s concussion protocol and didn’t practice on Wednesday. During training camp and the preseason, Bootle played the nickel with the second- and third-string defense at times. Charvarius Ward also missed Week 3 with a quadriceps injury and it’s unclear what his status will be for the upcoming game.
The defensive end position is also dealing with some injuries. DE Frank Clark is dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of last week’s game against the Chargers. DE Chris Jones was limited in practice last week with a wrist injury. It’d make sense for Demone Harris to be the player called up in either’s absence. He’s been with the Chiefs since 2019 and knows the system well.
