Chiefs Inactives Include McGraw, Dorsey

The Kansas City Chiefs have released their inactives ahead of tonight’s contest vs. the New England Patriots.

Here is the damage:

47 McGraw, 53 Williams, 68 Maneri, 72 Dorsey, 84 Colbert, 88 Becht, 90 Bair

We are seeing some different names on the list this week because of injuries. With Matt Cassel being out, Ricky Stanzi will be active for the first time this year. Also, because Glenn Dorsey is sitting with a knee injury, NT Jerrell Powe is also active. We may actually see Powe play some at NT as well. Up until tonight, Kelly Gregg and Amon Gordon have been splitting time, however, Josh Looney has tweeted that he thinks Gordon will actually step in for Dorsey at DE. That means Gilberry will continue his role as a sub-package pass rusher while Gordon plays running downs. With Gordon at DE, we’ll likely see Powe step in whenever Gregg needs a rest. I figure we’ll see Powe for around 15-20 snaps.

McGraw is also out. He has been banged up with a shoulder injury. In a way, it makes sense to sit him this week against the pass-heavy Pats. McGraws strength lies in run defense and the Chiefs will likely be using a lot of Javier Arenas and Donald Washington in coverage. This isn’t a game where you need a lot of McGraw so why not let him heal up?

Wow. What a difference a week makes. We’ll get our first look at Palko, Powe and maybe even Stanzi tonight. Even if the game isn’t close, it should be fun to watch as we scout the team’s future.