The Kansas City Chiefs are without several players in Wednesday’s practice including Mitch Schwartz.
The Kansas City Chiefs came out of their Week 6 contest against the Buffalo Bills with an important win in the AFC race for the No. 1 seed. They also came away with numerous injuries to address, including some key losses from the trenches.
Both right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, defensive end Alex Okafor, and defensive end Taco Charlton were among the Chiefs forced to miss practice on Wednesday as the team prepares for a divisional showdown with the Denver Broncos in Week 7. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins was also among those sitting out practice completely.
Schwartz is the biggest loss overall as the team’s pillar along the offensive line tries to determine his ability to play with a back injury that forced him to leave the Bills game early for the locker room. Schwartz was even questionable coming into the game, and it will be important for the Chiefs to think about the long-term perspective given his importance.
The defensive line is also down a couple contributors at defensive end without Charlton (knee) and Okafor (hamstring). Okafor has nurtured a few injuries since arriving in Kansas City, and a hamstring issue already kept him out of Week 2 and Week 3 completely. When healthy, he’s a potential starter opposite Frank Clark. Fortunately the Chiefs are a bit deeper here than other positions.
Still, if Charlton is also unable to go on Sunday against Denver, then the position is becoming thinner than what anyone should be comfortable with. Rookie Mike Danna is already on injured reserve, which means three rotational linemen would all be out, leaving Tanoh Kpassagnon and Clark as the starters to go with Demone Harris as the backup. If these injuries linger, it would not surprise anyone to see Tim Ward added from the practice squad.
As for Watkins, it’s expected he will miss at least the upcoming game against Denver as he deals with a hamstring injury of his own.