Chiefs still without Derrick Johnson, Marcus Peters
The Kansas City Chiefs are getting Dontari Poe back on Thursday, but the team is still missing Jeremy Maclin, Derrick Johnson and Marcus Peters.
Kansas City is trying to get healthy before playing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium. Unfortunately, that process is slow in coming. The Chiefs will hit the practice field on Thursday without a host of big names, including Jaye Howard (hip flexor), Jeremy Maclin (groin), Marcus Peters (hip pointer) and Derrick Johnson (hamstring).
On the plus side, head coach Andy Reid did say that Dontari Poe would be back on the field after taking Wednesday off to rest his inflamed knee. Poe being back gets the Chiefs a little healthier, but there are still questions looming.
At this point, it would be a surprise is Maclin or Howard play. Those two would be out for the second consecutive week, with both having sat out against the Carolina Panthers. Reid has mentioned that both Peters and Johnson are more about maintenance than actually worrying about absence on Sunday. Let’s hope that isn’t just coach speak.
LB Hali and DT Poe expected to practice for #Chiefs today. Not practicing: DL Howard, LB Johnson, WR Maclin, CB Peters and LS Winchester.
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) November 17, 2016
If Peters and Johnson both come back, and Poe can play, the Chiefs should be fine defensively even if Howard needs another week. The offense needs to pick it up drastically, with to without Maclin.