Chiefs vs. Broncos: Sammy Watkins, Mitchell Schwartz among inactive players

As expected, Sammy Watkins and Mitchell Schwartz are among the inactive players for the Chiefs vs. the Broncos on Sunday.

The Kansas City Chiefs stated ahead of time that the team would be without the services of wide receiver Sammy Watkins and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz due to injury as they suit up to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The release of officially inactive players via the team on Sunday made it official.

The team announced that Watkins and Schwartz would both sit as injured scratches for the game along with defensive end Taco Charlton. The Chiefs are clearly hoping that all three players can be healthy with some rest from practice and games without having to be placed on injured reserve—a move that would guarantee their absence from at least three scheduled games if not more.

Schwartz is out this week due to a back injury that clearly has him hurting enough to snap one of the NFL’s most incredible streaks.

For Watkins, Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos will be the second consecutive game he’s missed with a hamstring injury. The Chiefs didn’t want to place him on IR and it could be because they were eyeing a return in Week 8, which would mean he’ll be back next week against the New York Jets. Even if not, the team likely wanted the flexibility to make the call in the moment.

As for Charlton, a knee injury has sidelined him for at least this Sunday, a bigger absence given that fellow defensive ends like Alex Okafor and Mike Danna are also out (and on injured reserve).

As for the team’s other inactives, Darwin Thompson takes a seat with the addition of Le’Veon Bell to the roster for the first game of the season since signing with the Chiefs. Ricky Seals-Jones is once again inactive after being active and targeted in the offense for the first time last week against the Buffalo Bills.