Chiefs vs Browns inactives: Bigger pieces will linger on the bench for Week 15
By Matt Conner
Both teams taking the field will see some significant pieces sitting and waiting to return.
The Kansas City Chiefs are in the midst of getting healthier and healthier as a team but they still aren't fully where they want to be just yet. Long-term injuries are rounding into form. Players who are finally healthy are still kicking off the rust. New additions are still getting their legs.
Just as it's taken DeAndre Hopkins several weeks to feel like a fully integrated part of the offense, the same long lead time should be given to those names are back or will be coming back as the postseason comes into view for Andy Reid's team.
The Chiefs have four more games between now and the Wild Card round—a round they hope to skip in its entirety with the AFC's lone first-round bye—and the Cleveland Browns are up first. They are also a team with plenty of names who are likely to be sitting and watching in Week 15 instead of playing given the amount of injuries on the roster.
The Browns have already declared wide receiver Cedric Tillman out for the Chiefs' visit to Cleveland on Sunday, but there were no less than five players listed as questionable who could easily join him among the team's list of inactive players. That list includes tight end David Njoku, offensive lineman Joel Bitonio, and defensive lineman Mike Hall Jr.
For the Chiefs, left tackle D.J. Humphries will be sitting this one out, as head coach Andy Reid has already made clear in the days leading up to Sunday. That means Wanya Morris is back to being the likely starter at left tackle for K.C. Wide receiver Hollywood Brown is back at practice for the Chiefs, but he's also out among inactive players as the Chiefs give him a longer runway to return to the field.
Here are the Chiefs' inactives for Week 15
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB
- Joshua Uche, DL
- C.J. Hanson, OL
- Ethan Driskell, OL
- D.J. Humphries, OL
- Marlon Tuipulotu, DL
- Malik Herring, DL
Here are the Browns' inactives for Week 15
- Bailey Zappe, QB
- David Njoku, TE
- James Houston, DL
- Chigozie Anusiem, CB
- Dustin Hopkins, K
- Cedric Tillman, WR
- D'Onta Foreman, RB
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