Chiefs’ Jeremy Maclin leaves practice because of minor ankle injury

Chiefs receiver Jeremy Maclin left practice early on Thursday because of what Chiefs coach Andy Reid called a minor ankle injury.

“He just tweaked his ankle a little bit,” Reid said of Maclin, who walked off under his own power shortly before the practice ended. “He’s OK. No problem.”

It is unclear which ankle Maclin tweaked.

Maclin also sustained a right high-ankle sprain in the Chiefs’ 30-0 AFC Wild Card playoff win over Houston in January. He played in the Chiefs’ next game, a 27-20 loss to New England, but was less than 100 percent.

“It took longer (to heal) than I wanted it to,” Maclin said Wednesday. “(Heck) if I had a choice, it would have been ready by New England. But it’s one of those things where you’ve got to keep at it. At the same time, you have the offseason to get it ready and get it right.”

Maclin spent the offseason in Kansas City rehabbing the injury.

“I still was battling the ankle (this offseason), so I stayed (here) and took care of that,” Maclin said Wednesday. “Just the normal routine that I normally do. I’m 28 now, but I feel just about as good as I’ve felt in the league. I’m right in my prime, so I’m excited about this upcoming season.”

Offensive line far from set

The Chiefs’ starting offensive line this week consisted of left tackle Eric Fisher, left guard Zach Fulton, center Mitch Morse, right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Thursday that some changes could be on the horizon.

“Next week we’ll move people, we’ll start doing that,” Reid said. “For these three days, we felt pretty good about what we had right there and we wanted to get it kind of settled. Guys will move around next week a little, you’ll see them move around.”

It might not be a ton, however.

“I don’t think it’s going to be as much as you’ve seen in the past,” Reid said. “I feel pretty good with that group. It’s important that we still get guys in there, so that if something were to happen they can (fill in).”

Jah Reid, a multigame starter at right guard and right tackle a year ago, has been getting work on the No. 2 unit at tackle and could be a candidate to serve as an important swing tackle in the event Schwartz or Fisher went down.

Andy Reid was asked if Schwartz, who played the left side in college, could also fill in for Fisher in case he’s needed.

“We possibly could do that,” Andy Reid said. “But right now he’s just keeping his head above water with the plays, he mentioned that to you the other day. We’ll just let him settle in where he’s at and kind of keep him there for right now.”

With the left tackle, center and right tackle positions essentially set, the guard position figures to be the one with the most turnover.

Injury report

Running back Jamaal Charles (knee), outside linebacker Tamba Hali (knee), outside linebacker Justin Houston (knee) and receiver Mike Williams (hamstring) missed practice for the third straight day Thursday.

Safety Eric Berry, who has been franchise tagged, also missed practice for the third straight day and is not expected to appear unless he signs a long-term contract, which is common in the NFL. The sides have until July 15 to agree to a deal.

Up next

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he will give the players four days off starting on Friday. The Chiefs will conduct the fourth of 10 voluntary practices on Tuesday.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ Jeremy Maclin leaves practice because of minor ankle injury."