Anthony Hitchens is back with Chiefs after stint on COVID reserve list

Anthony Hitchens sounds like he’s back with the team after a stint on the reserve COVID list.

Anthony Hitchens sounds like he’s back. The exhale you’re likely also hearing is that of the Kansas City Chiefs coaches who are glad to see him back at work at Arrowhead to help bolster a defense that’s missing key places in the heart of it all.

On Wednesday, Hitchens posted the following to Twitter:

The post was a ray of light for a Chiefs defense that has held its own in some tough games in recent weeks, one that has been doing its best to get by given the array of injuries, especially at linebacker.

Hitchens landed on the COVID-19/reserve list two weeks ago which kept him out of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17 as well as the previous win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. The team’s linebacking corps has stepped up in the wake of missing players, but it’s the sort of defensive tension that likely would not hold for another week or two.

Fortunately the Chiefs have a bye week coming up on Sunday which gives them even more time to get their guys healthy and ready for whoever awaits them in the divisional round. Hitchens is back from the reserve list, and Damien Wilson just returned from a knee injury which kept him out nearly one month. Ben Niemann is still out with a hamstring injury, and Willie Gay just suffered a high ankle sprain last Sunday, so there’s still some work to be done by trainers to get this unit ready to go.

This year, Hitchens has been playing as well as ever for the Chiefs as the captain in the middle of Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. He had 78 total tackles, including two for a loss, and 4 quarterback hits in 14 games this year for K.C. More importantly, he’ll help lead the defense as the Chiefs attempt to run it back in defense of their Super Bowl win.