June 14, 2016; Kansas City, MO; Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles goes through a drill during minicamp at the team’s training facility. (Rex Wolf/The Topeka Capital-Journal)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs escaped the preseason with relatively few injuries, making the first injury report of the season a short one.
Linebacker Tamba Hali (knee) and running back Jamaal Charles (knee) were listed as limited participants. Cornerback Phillip Gaines (knee) and Charcandrick West (elbow) were full participants in practice.
This week’s injury list is the first reflecting one of two changes to NFL injury reporting for the 2016 season.
Teams will no longer be able to designate a player as “out” on practice reports. The only designations allowed are full participation, limited participation or did not practice.
On standard practice days – Wednesday through Friday for a Sunday game – teams must provide an accurate description of a player’s injury status and level of participation in practice. If a player has a noteworthy injury, it must be listed on the practice report even if he participates in the full practice and the team expects him to play in the game.
The game status report, which is posted along with the final practice report, indicates the likelihood a player will play in that week’s game. The “probable” designation has been eliminated. Players who are likely to play – even if listed on the practice report as injured – should not be listed on the game status report.
The game status report uses three designations. The definitions have slightly changed for 2016: out, which means a player will not play; doubtful, meaning he is unlikely to play; and questionable, which indicates uncertainty a player will play.
Confused yet? The evolving changes of the injury reported are intended to encourage greater transparency with injuries and help eliminate some of the gamesmanship teams have engaged using the injury report in the past.
The league eliminated the “probable” designation because research indicated 95 percent of players listed as probable indeed did play. Doubtful now means unlikely to play, as opposed to “at least 75 percent chance will not play.” Questionable means unlikely to play.
The game status information along with practice reports should give a better picture of who will play each week ahead of game time. But the reports should still be taken with a grain of salt. Teams may still list players as limited or non-participating who still play in the game.
Wednesday’s injury report as released by the Chiefs:
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
Practice report
Did not participate in practice: None
Limited participation: None
Full participation: G D.J. Fluke (ankle)
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Practice report
Did not participate in practice: None
Limited participation: RB Jamaal Charles (knee) and LB Tamba Hali (knee)
Full participation: CB Phillip Gaines (knee) and RB Charcandrick West (elbow)
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Matt Derrick is the lead beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and the Topeka Capital-Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @MattDerrick.
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