KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a number of other injuries during their 23-20 win over the Bengals. They lost three wide receivers — Mecole Hardman re-injured his pelvis, JuJu Smith-Schuster had knee swelling, and Kadarius Toney sprained his ankle — while L’ cornerback Jarius Sneed was in concussion protocol and Willie Gay Jr .hurt his shoulder.
Gay was the only one who returned to practice on an unusually mild February day in Kansas City.
Coach Andy Reid said Toney had his morning walk-through and “he’s close and doing well,” while Smith-Schuster “is in a good position. The main thing is to let him calm down. We’re very optimistic right now ”.
The news wasn’t so good for Hardman, who injured his abdominal area for the first time in November. The Chiefs later began ruling it out as a pelvis injury as Hardman neared his return from injured reserve, but he was unable to return to action until the AFC title game. He got hurt while being wrapped up after a hold and didn’t come back.
“Very brave effort,” Reid said, “and my heart goes out to the boy. He is suffering today. I doubt he’ll make the Super Bowl.
While the Chiefs remained lean at wide receiver, they brought Justin Watson back to the training field. He was ruled out before kickoff against Cincinnati with illness, forcing Marcus Kemp off the practice squad.
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The Chiefs are also hoping Sneed will clear concussion protocol in the two weeks between games.
In a defense consisting of three rookie cornerbacks and a rookie safety, Sneed is often tasked with covering for the opposition’s best wide receiver. It would have been Ja’Marr Chase against the Bengals, but Sneed was injured on the fourth play of the game and didn’t return; it will probably be AJ Brown or DeVonta Smith if he can play against the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Reid also said there’s a possibility Clyde Edwards-Helaire, their 2020 first-round pick, will be activated for the big game. Edwards-Helaire handed the No. 1 running back job to rookie Isiah Pacheco before a sprained ankle placed him on injured reserve in late November, but his versatility could come in handy against a tough Eagles defense.
“He’ll practice. We’ll see where that is,” Reid said. “We take it day by day, trying to understand how he feels, not only during training but also after training. He will work today.
