The Kansas City Chiefs were back at practice today after a day off Tuesday. The team saw several players return to practice from injury, including starting running back Damien Williams. The other players who returned to practice were Tyreek Hill, Jordan Lucas and Damien Wilson.
The Chiefs were being cautious players like Williams, Lucas and Wilson. They did not fully participate in practice, especially full-contact periods. This is not unusual when working a player back into the lineup from injury. The last thing you want to do is rush him back into action and have him injure himself further.
Here’s a look at all the players who didn’t practice today:
- DE Tim Ward – NFI
- LB Darius Harris – NFI
- WR Gehrig Dieter – Back spasms
- DE Alex Okafor – Hip
- DL Emmanuel Ogbah – Oblique
- DE Frank Clark – Wrist
As you can see, there were still a handful of players missing from practice, including quite a few defensive linemen. That has allowed both Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon to get a ton of repetitions, which will only help them both become better. Eventually, depth along the defensive line could become a concern if the starters don’t return to action. Guys like Jeremiah Attaochu have been filling in at defensive end just because the team doesn’t have the bodies.
One player drawing increasing concern is Dieter. He’s been out with a back injury for most training camp. He may have Patrick Mahomes in his corner, but Dieter still has to play in order to keep a spot on the team. It was a bit of a letdown to not see him back at practice today. He’s probably a long shot to play in Saturday’s game.
The good news is, there were no apparent injuries suffered during today’s practice. Hopefully the Chiefs will return more players at practice on Thursday before they break ahead of the opening of the preseason.
