The Kansas City Chiefs escaped their loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 11 no worse for wear on the injury front.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid told reports on Wednesday that everyone is practicing in some capacity ahead of Week 12’s game against the Carolina Panthers. That includes DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who suffered a hand injury late in the Week 11 game in Buffalo.
In addition to every player on the active roster participating in this practice ahead of the Week 12 game on Sunday, Reid had some updates on several players who will soon return from injured reserve and the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. After limited practice sessions for all three days last week, RB Isiah Pacheco and DE Charles Omenihu will continue to practice.
Will they play in Week 12 against the Panthers? Reid is keeping the cards close to the vest on that one.
“Yeah, we’ll see,” Reid told reporters. “We’ll see on both those two, Charles and (Isiah Pacheco). Kind of go through the practice week, see where we’re at the end of this week, and we’ll go from there. But yeah, just have to see. (It’s a) day-by-day type thing.”
That’s a lot more optimistic than the one-word answer Reid gave last week when asked a similar question. Pacheco and Omenihu participated on the scout team last week. They’ll do a little more this week, which shows they’re going in the right direction as far as making their returns to the field.
With Pacheco, Reid and the coaching staff will be cautious to protect him from himself. Everyone knows he’s a ball of energy and they’ll look to ease him back into the swing of things, so he doesn’t further hurt himself.
“He’s a spark plug now, emotionally,” Reid said. “He’s something that way and he’s worked his tail off to get to the point that he’s at now. We’ve got to keep an eye on him that way. He would have played three weeks ago if he had his choice, but that’s sometimes how it goes. I appreciate that mentality. That’s what’s helped him get to this point.”
When will Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown make his return?
Reid also had another update to provide on WR Hollywood Brown, who remains on injured reserve with a sternoclavicular joint injury.
This comes after the wideout posted a cryptic message on X (formerly Twitter) with just a clock emoji. Some speculated he could soon be designated to return to practice like Pacheco and Omenihu. He’s not quite ready for that yet per Coach Reid.
“(He’s) making very good progress,” Reid said of Brown. “(I) can’t tell you when he’ll be back. He’s another one who is excited to get back out here and get going. So, I appreciate the way he’s approached the whole thing.”
The initial timeline gave Brown a chance to return in the playoffs, but it’s possible that he could make his return to the practice field before the regular season concludes.
