Dee Ford, Mitch Morse will miss Chiefs practice on Thursday

Two important players will miss Thursday’s practice as the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to host the Washington Redskins on Monday.

The Kansas City Chiefs are back in primetime in Week 4 as they host the visiting Washington Redskins at Arrowhead Stadium. As they seek to go 4-0 to start the season and maintain their hold on first place in the AFC West, the Chiefs are likely hoping that two key starters can turn the corner in terms of health to be available for the game on Monday night.

Both pass rushing linebacker Dee Ford and starting center Mitch Morse will be practicing for the Chiefs on Thursday as the team returns from having an extra day off due to playing on Monday night. Ford was injured during Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers while Morse remains out after suffering a foot sprain during Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Both players are key performers even if they remain under the radar and the dropoff in talent is noticeable at both positions. Zach Fulton can certainly spell Morse on occasion, but Morse is a future Pro Bowl talent who anchors the Chiefs offensive line in the middle. His athleticism is vital to protecting Alex Smith and the Chiefs suffered against the Chargers pass rush last week. Morse, in other words, was definitely missed.

The same can be said of Ford, whose pass rushing skills force defensive coordinators to account, even if he’s not the same sort of threat as Justin Houston on the other side. The drop to Frank Zombo, who can be fine in spurts, or Tanoh Kpassagnon, who is simply raw as a rookie out of Villanova, is too much for a defense that needs to consistently apply pressure to handle their difficult schedule.

Hopefully sitting out a bit more in practice will allow one or even both to return on Monday. If not, the Chiefs will have a bit tougher of a time overcoming Washington.