The Chiefs are heading into Week 9 with a few moving parts, but Andy Reid made one thing clear on Wednesday: the injury list is still relatively short, and the team is sorting through its biggest questions as it prepares for the New York Jets at home.
Reid said Peter Woods is the only player who can’t practice right now. The first-round pick is dealing with a neck stinger, and the coach said the training staff is “just letting that thing calm down there.”
There was better news elsewhere on the roster. Mansoor Delane is back in the mix after missing the Broncos game with a shoulder issue. Reid said the cornerback returned to practice, which gives Kansas City a boost after Delane had already battled through shoulder trouble in May, missed much of training camp, and then hurt it again on the first series of Week 1.
Rashee Rice also looks like he’s trending in the right direction. He came back in Week 8 after sitting out two games with a hamstring injury he first suffered in Week 4, and Reid said the Chiefs handled his workload the right way.
“I thought Chad [O'Shea] did a nice job of managing him through the game. In the third quarter, he had 17 snaps I think it was, and that was about right.
We added onto that, but as far as managing it to that point, sometimes you can overload the guys early, and you've got a wet noodle by the end of the thing. You don't want to put the guys in that spot when they're just coming back.”
Reid added that Rice should be even better this week.
“Rashee, it's a tribute to him staying in good condition. There’s a different condition off the field than when you're playing, but in a high-altitude, intense game, he kept himself in there and gave us fast reps. He'll be even better this week, though.”
On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs are sticking with Harrison Butker for now despite another rough outing in Week 8, when he missed another field goal in Denver. That comes even after Kansas City signed Justin Tucker to the practice squad, but Reid said Butker remains the kicker heading into Week 9.
There’s also a good chance Kingsley Suamataia gets his job back at left guard. The Chiefs benched him for the second time this season in Week 8, and Reid still didn’t offer an explanation for the earlier move. But on Wednesday, he said Suamataia has a “good chance” to reclaim the starting spot from Mike Caliendo.
Reid also touched on the trade deadline, which is set for November 10. He said general manager Brett Veach has already been in contact with him about possible additions, and that those conversations started “about a month ago,” adding, “you know how [Veach] is.”
“But that’s good. We’ll just see where it all goes, but he’s great with all of that.
He doesn’t miss a beat, so if he can make things happen, he'll make things happen. I like the guys we have, and he's in a position where he's trying to make everything even better than what you've got.
That’s his job, and he does very well with that.”
Wide receiver help is one area that could be on the radar, with names such as Josh Downs of the Indianapolis Colts and Brian Thomas Jr. of the Jacksonville Jaguars mentioned.
In Other News...
Chiefs Trade Deadline Pressure Is Building Around Brett Veach
The Chiefs fast start has given way to a little more urgency in Kansas City, with the team sitting at 5-0 before dropping its last two games and putting Brett Veach under the kind of deadline pressure that tends to follow a contender. With multiple 2027 draft picks in hand, the front office has the flexibility to make a move if it decides the roster needs a jolt, and the conversation around the league is already turning toward what kind of help Kansas City might seek.
Wide receiver help is the obvious area to watch, especially with the deadline approaching and the Chiefs looking for ways to keep pace in a crowded AFC race. There are also offensive tackle possibilities on the board, but the bigger question is whether Veach decides to pay the price for a proven playmaker or wait and see if the current group can steady itself before the market closes. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Loss Put One Roster Problem Back In The Spotlight
The Chiefs 24-21 loss to the Broncos did more than cost them a division game. It put a familiar offensive issue back under the microscope, with Kansas City unable to finish after building a 24-13 lead and then coming up empty on a late goal-line chance that should have changed the outcome.
What stood out beyond the score was the way the passing game broke down at key moments, with miscommunications and route-running problems showing up when the Chiefs needed clean execution most. Those kinds of issues are only going to keep the receiver conversation alive, especially with trade speculation already swirling around the position and the offense still searching for more reliability from its pass catchers. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Have A Bigger Problem Than Losing To Denver
The loss to Denver was frustrating enough on its own, but the bigger concern for Kansas City was how avoidable so much of it felt. Andy Reid pointed to offensive stalls that came from the Chiefs themselves more than anything the Broncos did, and the penalty count told the same story. Kansas City was flagged 11 times for 105 yards, a kind of self-sabotage that can unravel a close game long before the final possession.
Players and coaches did not hide from the discipline issue afterward, knowing it had a direct hand in the outcome. The Chiefs had chances to finish the game and instead kept handing away momentum, including one sequence that erased what looked like a decisive score. For a team that expects to be sharper in tight moments, the lesson from this one was less about Denver and more about cleaning up the details that made the loss possible. [Read more 🡒]