The Kansas City Chiefs have some very high-profile injuries, and the addition of Phillip Gaines could be a crushing blow.
Kansas City is practicing on Thursday, but will be doing so without a few of its best players. Outside linebacker Tamba Hali is sitting for rest and Justin Houston is out at least for two more games while his knee recovers from offseason surgery.
None of this is new. However, cornerback Phillip Gaines is sitting out on Thursday after practicing on a limited basis on Wednesday. If Gaines can’t go on Sunday, it’s a huge problem. Few teams can throw the ball like the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, Eli Rogers and more on the outside.
If Gaines isn’t there, look for the Chiefs to move Steven Nelson to the outside in both base and nickel formations. To replace him in the slot would be Ron Parker, who has shown capable of covering in man-to-man situations. If Parker stays at free safety, perhaps Kansas City really rolls the dice with D.J. White on the outside.
Phil Gaines, Tamba, Charcandrick West, Marcus Peters and Jah Reid won't work today.
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) September 29, 2016
If Pittsburgh sees White, you can rest assured that Brown will be matched up against him. While Nelson isn’t Deion Sanders, I’d much rather have him in that spot than White, if only for the experience.
In other injury news, Charcandrick West and Jah Reid are still dealing with ankle injuries and are not practicing. If neither goes on Friday, you can assume that they won’t be active on Sunday night. Marcus Peters is also out, dealing with the flu. Everyone else is practicing, including Jamaal Charles.