Khalen Saunders, Sammy Watkins among Chiefs inactives against Jets

The Chiefs will be without a few key players as they host the visiting Jets.

The list of inactive players for the Kansas City Chiefs was just released shortly before the team hosts the visiting New York Jets for their scheduled game in Week 8, and the host franchise will be without a few key players.

The Chiefs announced a list of inactives that include right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, wide receiver Sammy Watkins, and defensive lineman Khalen Saunders. The former two players are a big hit, but they’re inclusion on the list is not surprising. The latter is a total curveball that makes sense only when looking at the bigger picture.

Schwartz has been missing time in practice with a back injury for a couple weeks now. He was able to start the first six games of the regular season but he left the team’s win over the Buffalo Bills early and didn’t return. He then missed his first start of his NFL career in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos. This will be his second consecutive game to sit out.

Meanwhile, Watkins will be sitting out his third consecutive game due to a hamstring injury that has plagued him since the team’s lone loss to the Las Vegas Raiders dating back to Week 5. The Chiefs decided not to put Watkins on injured reserve in order to maintain flexibility in their option to bring him back, but clearly he’s not ready to return just yet. The Chiefs have only one more game before they reach the bye, so it will be interesting to see if either player returns next week against the Carolina Panthers.

As for Saunders, he has been able to practice this week, but the Chiefs are holding him out for an unknown reason. The likeliest explanation is that Saunders has already missed the bulk of the season thus far due to an elbow dislocation. He returned for the first time last week, and it could be that he came back a bit too soon or that the injury became inflamed or irritated in some way. It’s also possible the Chiefs are playing it safe against a team that they’re expected to steamroll.

As for other inactives, they include linebacker Darius Harris, defensive end Demone Harris, tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, and running back DeAndre Washington.