KC Chiefs injury report is concerning and confusing for AFC Championship

The Kansas City Chiefs injury report for the AFC title game is confusing for a number of reasons—and not in a good way.

For the last few weeks, the Kansas City Chiefs have been trending positively when it comes to injuries as various players have returned from injured reserve or looked like they might come back after weeks away. From Blake Bell and Mecole Hardman to Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jody Fortson, the Chiefs have slowly been restocking the shelves in practice with the active roster looking close to its preseason form.

Now on the verge of the AFC title game, the Chiefs’ injury report went from encouraging to confusing in a single day.

With the release of the final injury report as the Chiefs prepare to host the Cincinnati Bengals, things are suddenly all out of sorts, and it’s not just with one player.  Let’s start here, with the introduction of Thursday’s injury report and the lone player who was limited in practice:

• Mecole Hardman, WR, Pelvis

From there, we had three others who were listed, but all were full participants on Thursday as well:

• Patrick Mahomes, QB, Ankle
• Jerick McKinnon, RB, Ankle
• Willie Gay Jr., LB, Toe

That was it. No other injuries listed. No other players who were dealing with anything known. In fact, there was more discussion of players returning—e.g. Edwards-Helaire, Fortson, Hardman—than any real injury issues with the roster as a whole.

One day later, it’s like an injury bomb went off at Arrowhead Stadium. Remember that Friday’s injury report is the final one of the week in which teams have to give a specific designation for players that range from probable to out. Suddenly the Chiefs had a number of issues along with new faces. Let’s sort out the confusion:

Travis Kelce, TE, Back

First of all, the fact that Travis Kelce is listed on the injury report at all is of tremendous concern. The Chiefs have two titans on offense, and one is playing with a high ankle sprain. Now the other is questionable with a back injury? When did this happen? In his comments to reporters following practice, Kelce wasn’t even mentioned, except to say that he was lumped in with everyone else as Reid talked about the “nice job” that “everyone” did in practice all week.

What does this mean? Kelce is the cornerstone of this offense. No one else shoulders the load that he does. He has very clear and unmistakable chemistry with Mahomes on offense. If there’s a point at which the Chiefs offense finds itself in a hole due to a penalty or a sack, it’s typically Kelce who bails them out by finding a hole in a soft zone.

The good news is that we got this incredibly detailed injury report explaining things (please note sarcasm):

Kelce did practice in full on Friday and all week, but he’s designated as questionable which is the same as Hardman. Let’s repeat: Kelce has the same injury designation as a WR who hasn’t played since 1989. We apologize for being out of sorts over this, but yeah, we are.

Justin Watson, WR, Illness

This is the understandable one. This is the only injury that Andy Reid spoke about after practice on Friday and that’s because Justin Watson was the only player who sat out. These things happen, People get sick. They need a day off. It happens to all of us. The bigger concern here is about proximity to other players and the hope that it doesn’t go from Watson to the rest of the wide receiver room.

 Nick Bolton, LB, Ankle & JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Knee

Here’s where things get really confusing. Andy Reid said only one player missed practice on Friday but he didn’t mention two other players—two very, very important players—who were limited on Friday: JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is dealing with a knee problem, and linebacker Nick Bolton, who has a back concern.

Does this sound odd? It should. The Chiefs didn’t give either player an injury designation despite the fact that neither could practice in full. Maybe that means it’s not a big deal but Reid also didn’t discuss either player. In short, everyone just ignored it and left Arrowhead Stadium.

So what is up with Bolton? The second-year linebacker might have his areas of weakness, but he’s the single best tackler on the Chiefs and will be a major force against Joe Mixon and any efforts the Chiefs make to keep the defense honest as they try to get after Joe Burrow with a hurting offensive line.

The same can be said of Smith-Schuster, the team’s most important wide receiver. While Kelce does carry the load offensively, Smith-Schuster is the important secondary target here. And this is only enhanced if both Kelce and Watson are ailing in some way. The Chiefs aren’t exactly flush with pass catchers who can create separation on their own and this is a big game for Smith-Schuster against his former rivals.

As for the rest of the injury report, it’s everything that the Chiefs have already listed. McKinnon is still on it but ready to go. Hardman has practiced this week but is still an unknown. Mahomes is good although dealing with an ankle injury that even my Great Aunt Beverly knows about.

What are we to think of this? How panicked should we be? It’d be nice if the Chiefs had attached a doctor’s note or some sort of explanation to this report before they released it.