KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With an array of injuries at the wide receiver position, the Chiefs elevated two receivers from their practice squad for Sunday night’s visit to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chiefs used the standard elevation on receivers Marcus Kemp and Cornell Powell, adding them to the active roster for the Week 11 contest against the Chargers. Players elevated from the practice squad before a game are typically but not always active for the game.
The additions of Kemp and Powell provide the Chiefs with a pool of six active receivers for this Sunday. They join Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson, Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney.
Valdes-Scantling expects to play despite missing practice time this week due to an illness. The Chiefs will be without JuJu Smith-Schuster, who remains in the concussion protocol, and Mecole Hardman, whom the club placed on injured reserve Thursday due to a hamstring injury.
With the Chiefs also without four-phase special teams player Chris Lammons (concussion), Kemp and Powell provide depth for special teams as well. Kemp has played two games for the Chiefs this season, totaling four special teams tackles in 45 snaps. He also played six offensive snaps against San Francisco in Week 7.
Sunday’s game will likely mark the regular-season debut for Powell, whom the Chiefs selected in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
This marks the third time the Chiefs have elevated Kemp from the practice squad this season. That means the club must keep him on the 53-player active roster after the game or place him on waivers. If the team chooses the latter option and Kemp were to clear waivers, he would be eligible to re-sign with the club’s practice squad. The team used the same procedural move to retain linebacker Elijah Lee and cornerback Dicaprio Bootle earlier this season.
