The Kansas City Chiefs are feeling every bit of the three-game, 11-day gauntlet to be a part of this Christmas Day Wednesday special against the Pittsburgh Steelers. While they don’t have the AFC’s 1-seed fully locked up, it might be close enough to err on the side of caution with their injured players.
Earlier today, they issued a release saying that DB Chamarri Conner and OT D.J. Humphries are ruled out, while DT Chris Jones and OT Jawaan Taylor are questionable.
As always, the final practice report of the week contains injury designations for game day. Questionable means a 50-50 chance of playing. Doubtful means a greater chance than not of sitting out, and then a player can be ruled out altogether.
Here is the Chiefs’ final injury report, per the Chiefs’ website.
CHIEFS’ TUESDAY INJURY REPORT
DNP
OT D.J. Humphries (hamstring) – Out
DB Chamarri Conner (concussion) – Out
LIMITED
OT Jawaan Taylor (knee) – Questionable
DT Chris Jones (calf) – Questionable
FULL
QB Patrick Mahomes (ankle)
WR Xavier Worthy (ankle)
WR Nikko Remigio (knee)
TE Peyton Hendershot (calf)
C Creed Humphrey (shoulder)
CB Josh Williams (ankle/elbow)
S Justin Reid (back)
TE Peyton Hendershot (calf)
There are no surprises here based on their earlier report. The two questionable players are Taylor and Jones. They both were limited on Tuesday. That was Jones’ first attempt at practicing this week. Taylor was limited on both Monday and Tuesday. Given where we are in the season, with the Chiefs having a very high chance of locking up the AFC’s 1-seed even with a loss, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them err on the side of caution. Maybe Taylor will play, but I would be surprised if Jones plays.
If Jones is out, that would be a pretty big deal for the Steelers’ offensive line. He is one of the best in the league, and Pittsburgh’s interior offensive line has been rough for the last couple of weeks.
Conner is one of their primary nickel players, so his absence will make a difference for the Chiefs. Humphries has been out recently. I would guess they flex OG Joe Thuney out to tackle again and have Mike Caliendo slide in at guard, especially if Taylor is out. If both tackles are out, Wanya Morris will likely get the start. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith might be able to feast against Mahomes if he can’t get the ball out so quickly.
