Kansas City Chiefs fans can let out a sigh of relief.
After being added to the injury report late in the week with a hip injury and given a questionable game status, a new report suggests that Chiefs DB Tyrann Mathieu will play on Sunday. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Mathieu is expected to play against the Miami Dolphins despite his questionable status.
It’s still unclear how the injury occurred, but it doesn’t appear to be anything too serious that would cause him to miss the game. If he does play, it’s also not clear if he’ll be limited in any way.
#Chiefs versatile S Tyrann Mathieu (hip) is expected to play today vs. the #Dolphins despite being questionable, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 13, 2020
Mathieu is practically irreplaceable for the Chiefs’ defense. Beyond his leadership and playmaking ability, he’s one of the few defenders in the NFL that can truly do everything. Steve Spagnuolo lines him up in a number of different spots with regularity.
Earlier in the season, Mathieu was tasked with playing more slot cornerback, but with the emergence of L’Jarius Sneed, he’s back to roaming in the defensive secondary. It has yielded quite a bit of success with Mathieu recording three interceptions in the last two weeks.
Hopefully, Mathieu is close to 100% on Sunday because it’ll truly take a village of players to replace him. The last thing the Chiefs can afford to do is see his injury worsened and end up missing Mathieu for an extended time in the final quarter of the season.
