KANSAS CITY, Mo. – There is one advantage to a Thursday night game and it surrounds the 10 days the Chiefs have before Week 3’s game against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.
Sept. 17, 2015; Kansas City, MO; Chiefs offensive tackle Eric Fisher (72) during pregame warmups for Thursday Night Football against the Denver Broncos. (Chris Neal/The Topeka Capital-Journal)
The extra time could prove beneficial for right tackle Eric Fisher to recover from a high-ankle sprain.
And more importantly, the opportunity to return to the starting lineup.
“We’ll just see how he feels,” coach Andy Reid said Friday during a conference call with Chiefs beat writers. “That’s the primary thing. The more stable the ankle is, the more he can push off it, there’s a chance of that.”
The Chiefs designated Fisher as probable after listing him as a full participant in practice leading to Thursday night’s game against the Denver Broncos.
The former No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, however, didn’t start for a second straight week and saw limited action, playing two snaps on offense and four on special teams.
He entered the contest in the second half in relief of left tackle Donald Stephenson, who sustained what Reid categorized as a “basketball sprain” to the left ankle.
“It’s not a high-ankle sprain,” Reid said. “I’m just using the terms that I’m told. I don’t exactly what all that means. There’s a high-ankle sprain and a basketball sprain where you roll it. That’s what he did.”
Stephenson was able to return to the game and Reid indicated the injury isn’t serious.
“We don’t think it’s going to be an extended amount of time,” Reid said, “so we think he’s going to be OK.”
The same hasn’t been true for Fisher, who suffered his high-ankle sprain on Aug. 17. That type of injury can linger and Fisher missed three preseason games.
He didn’t return to practice until the first week of the regular season, and played on one snap on offense and six on special teams in the season opener against the Houston Texans.
Jah Reid, who signed with the Chiefs a week before the season opener after being cut by the Baltimore Ravens, has started the first two games in Fisher’s place.
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Herbie Teope is the lead Chiefs beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and The Topeka Capital-Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @HerbieTeope.
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