Chiefs news: Richie James remains in IR practice window for next week

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming out of a bye, which means some players who've been injured lately should be feeling better than ever as they've been given some time away from further pushing their bodies or fighting through pain for the sake of competition. That should mean that the Chiefs will be healthier than they've been in weeks as they head into the second half of their schedule.

When it comes to player injuries, however, the Chiefs have one decision to make when it comes to wide receiver Richie James that might not be an easy call.

The Chiefs have a decision to make in the next couple of weeks on Richie James.

On Wednesday, November 1, the Chiefs welcomed back James to practice as the team prepared to head to Germany for their Week 9 game in Frankfurt against the Miami Dolphins. James, who has been on injured reserve since shortly after the second game of the season, has been dealing with a long-term knee/MCL injury that's robbed him of most of this season.

Given his return to practice, NFL rules stipulate that the Chiefs have a three-week window from that first practice in which to either elevate him back to the active roster or force him to return to injured reserve, which would end his season prematurely. That makes November 22 the decision date for when the Chiefs have to make such a call.

At this point, the Chiefs have a roster spot open and it looks like James could be an easy decision to bring back for the stretch run. After all, it's not as if the team ever really saw what James could bring to the team after signing him to a one-year deal in free agency. He's also capable of helping on special teams as well as an experienced returner.

That said, the Chiefs are already dealing with redundancies at the position of wide receiver with smaller slot receivers/returners and that was even before the team brought back Mecole Hardman before the trade deadline. Rashee Rice has dominated from the slot but that's also kept Skyy Moore from playing a similar role along with Hardman in the mix. Adding James only makes a crowded space even more so without adding obvious value.

Perhaps the Chiefs like some things James can do/bring and they can scheme toward such strengths. For now, it's an odd situation without an obvious answer. If the Chiefs haven't already figured out their posture on the matter, they have another week to make up their minds.