Frank Clark, Chris Jones headline Chiefs injured list for Week 8

The Kansas City Chiefs might be missing the biggest components of their pass rush as they host Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday night.

With the latest injury report for the Kansas City Chiefs, the majority of the buzz looked at the positive signs of life that were included within: namely that Patrick Mahomes was back even in a limited capacity. That means that the knee injury suffered just one week ago is nothing close to the season-ending catastrophe that some of Chiefs Kingdom initially feared it might be when he first went down.

While the news about Mahomes is certainly good, the injury report itself contained much more despair than what Chiefs fans might have heard. Lost in the celebration about the team’s MVP feeling better is the fact that several other players are hurting just days before hosting the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. While some injuries are holdovers from previous weeks, Wednesday’s injury report also includes some new concerns on both sides of the ball.

Let’s take an in-depth look at the Chiefs list of injured players at this point and what we know:

Frank Clark (neck)
This is not good. For some reason, we’ve not yet heard a thing about Clark being injured, let alone that injury being something to do with his neck, until Wednesday. Clark wasn’t simply limited in practice, but he was held out entirely. For a player being paid to be the cornerstone of the defensive front, and a man who just so happened to have his best game so far in Steve Spagnuolo’s system, missing practice is not exactly a great sign. This injury is especially frightening because…

Chris Jones (groin)
In his remarks to reporters on Wednesday, Andy Reid originally stated that Jones was expected back at practice. That would be very welcome news for the Chiefs given the number of other defensive line injuries (see above and below). Unfortunately that turned out not to be true as Jones sat out yet another practice due to a lingering groin injury suffered back in early October. Clark and Jones are likely the two best defenders (depending on how you feel about Tyrann Mathieu) on the team, so the potential for both to miss Sunday’s game is an enormous hit. Then again, it will be an even bigger issue because…

Tanoh Kpassagnon (ill)
Part of the Chiefs ability to withstand some early injuries to the likes of Breeland Speaks and Xavier Williams is due to Spags ability to slide a disruptor like Tanoh Kpassagnon anywhere he likes along the line. Kpass has done an admirable job as a rotational lineman this season, and he’s only going to get better with time. We’re not sure what the illness is here, but Kpassagnon sat out all of practice. Here’s hoping a bit of rest can get him back to proper health. The bigger concern here, however, is that it might be contagious because…

Darron Lee (ill)
Yep, Tanoh is not the only one out with SARS or scurvy or whatever it is that’s going around. Before you sneer at “illness” as an injury designation, just know that the New York Jets saw their season ruined because Sam Darnold was “ill” with mono for weeks. (Okay, maybe it was ruined because they are the Jets, but you get the picture.) If Lee is unable to go due to this same illnes, the Chiefs will be missing a key coverage piece in the middle.

Kendall Fuller (thumb)
The Chiefs slot corner will be sitting out for some time, it seems, after he underwent surgery for a thumb injury. No official timeline for Fuller has been given, but the fact that he’s not been placed on IR is a positive sign. Still it might take a bit for the secondary to get him back, which means Chiefs Kingdom is praying that Rashad Fenton’s impressive work against the Denver Broncos wasn’t just a figment of our imaginations.

Andrew Wylie (ankle)
When Andrew Wylie first went down with an ankle injury late in the loss to the Indianapolis Colts, no one seemed too concerned that it might actually carry over. It turns out that we’re now into Week 8 and Wylie continues to miss serious time in the starting line-up. The left side of the line is a total mess for the Chiefs, although Martinas Rankin looks like a solid backup in place of Wylie so far. This would be the third straight game missed by Wylie if he sits out Sunday.

Eric Fisher (groin)
If you’re ready for some good news, here it is. The disaster known as “Cam Erving, left tackle” could be replaced soon by a man we’ve all come to appreciate far more than ever. Fisher has taken his hits over the years as a former No. 1 overall draft pick in 2013 who has supposedly failed to live up the billing. He might not be a household name, but he’s a solid, reliable performer at a key position who gets the job done. That’s more than most teams can claim at left tackle and the Chiefs have to love the fact that he’s returned to practice, even in a limited capacity.

Sammy Watkins (hamstring)
To continue the string of good news, Sammy Watkins is back in practice in full, which means we might see the complete array of offensive weapons together for the first time all season since Week 1. Unfortunately we’re likely to see it all with Matt Moore at the helm. That said, Moore will need all the help he can get and any quarterback at the pro level should be able to look decent when working with these weapons.

Other players on the injured report include Patrick Mahomes (knee, ankle), Martinas Rankin (ankle), and Anthony Sherman (hamstring). Rankin and Sherman were able to fully participate in practice.