With only two days until the Kansas City Chiefs take the field to host the visiting Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football in the season-opener for both franchises, the injury list just got quite a bit scarier for the home team.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones appeared on the Chiefs' injury report on Friday for the first time. The team's best pass rusher and defensive engine has been dealing with a calf injury. He was limited in action on Friday and held out of Saturday's practice completely.
Per ESPN reporter Nate Taylor, head coach Andy Reid did offer up a positive spin on things saying, "I think he will be all right."
Reid's descriptions of injured players haven't exactly been trustworthy as of late, as illustrated by the fact left tackle Josh Simmons has already been ruled out for Week 1 after several quotes from the team's head coach insisting it was a minor concern since mid-August.
A possible injury to Jones is alarming considering that Omarr Norman-Lott is also on the physically unable to play list to start the new season. The Chiefs have a deeper defensive interior than they've had in years thanks to the signing of Khyiris Tonga and the drafting of Peter Woods, but being without Jones would make the Chiefs' pass rush relatively toothless against Bo Nix and the Broncos.
Jones is coming off of eight consecutive seasons with either an All-Pro or Pro Bowl honor attached, with 87.5 career sacks for the Chiefs since being taken in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He's been the Chiefs' defensive pillar for the entirety of their dynastic run and he remains one of the league's best interior linemen, even at the age of 32.
Hopefully Reid is right (on this one) and Jones is able to play for a team that's already hurting in the trenches. The team's Week 1 game will be a pivotal one in terms of AFC West supremacy, and Jones is a definite difference-maker for the matchups up front.
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