KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs launch their bid for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens, and they appear ready to do so with a relatively healthy roster.
Head coach Andy Reid reported before Sunday’s practice that only receiver Hollywood Brown (sternoclavicular dislocation) would not practice. Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was also absent during the portion of practice that was open to the media. Brown is the only player not expected to play at this time against the Ravens on Thursday.
Safety Justin Reid, who didn’t take a snap during the team’s three opening preseason games due to a quad injury, pronounced himself ready to go before Sunday’s workout. He began training camp on the non-football injury list focusing on making a smart and steady return to action.
“I had a couple years in the system already, so there’s no reason to try and overextend myself to the point where I made the injury worse,” Justin Reid explained. “So the primary focus was just getting back healthy, and our training room did a great job of that. We took our time with it. And you know, this past week has been really good for me to get my feet back underneath me and be ready to go Thursday.
Reid wasn’t alone in dealing with injuries during training camp on the Chiefs’ defense. Fellow starters Chris Jones, Nick Bolton and Jaylen Watson all missed time due to injuries. Jones (shoulder) returned to practice last week and appeared with the starting lineup beginning Sunday’s practice. Watson saw first game action since offseason shoulder surgery during the team’s third preseason game against Chicago, racking up 53 snaps in knocking off the rust.
As a result, the Chiefs didn’t have the entirety of its No. 1 defense on the field during the preseason for the first until last Monday. Bolton believes concerns about that issue are mitigated by the team’s foundation and returning veterans. The Chiefs don’t expect to field a starter who wasn’t with the club last year, and of the 23 players on defense, only three are newcomers this season (defensive end Cam Thomas and safeties Jaden Hicks and Chris Roland-Wallace).
“I think J. Reid, myself, Chris, those guys know the scheme, we talk and communicate with each other,” Bolton explained. “I think we’ve done a great job of talking to the guys that have been playing and seeing what they’ve seen and how they reacted and how they see stuff. Just kind of fit in what we see into that, and then not generally change up too much. They went through all through training camp without us in preseason, so we’re just trying to come in and do our job, come back and be the voice and be a communicator to the defense.”
Since Sunday is technically the final day of preseason camps for all NFL teams, the Chiefs are not obligated to issue an injury report after the workout. The club will submit its first injury report of the season after Monday’s practice with another report Tuesday and an estimated report with game-day status designations on Wednesday.
