Chiefs’ Charvarius Ward (hand) ruled out for Sunday’s matchup against the Chargers
The Chiefs are officially without a starting cornerback in Week 2.
Coach Andy Reid said after Friday’s practice that Charvarius Ward (hand) is ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The designation doesn’t come as a big surprise, though, as Ward wasn’t on the practice field Wednesday or Thursday. He was observed Friday during the open portion to media standing off on the sidelines without his helmet while the rest of the team went through stretching and individual position drills.
Ward also wore a protective wrap around his left hand, which he injured during last week’s season-opening 34-20 win over the Houston Texans.
Without Ward, the Chiefs will turn to cornerbacks Rashad Fenton, Antonio Hamilton and rookie L’Jarius Sneed, who drew the start at right cornerback in Week 1 while Bashaud Breeland continues to serve a four-game suspension. Fenton, the likely starter in Ward’s place at left cornerback, and Hamilton provide flexibility to move inside against a slot receiver as needed.
The Chiefs could also choose to have rookie cornerback BoPete Keyes help out on defense after Keyes was a healthy inactive in Week 1.
“Our young guys have an opportunity to play and I think that’s a great thing,” Reid said. “They need to do just that, step up and enjoy that opportunity that they have there to be in there, then execute and play good physical football.”
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo appeared confident in his young cornerback group and pointed out it will take a team effort on defense against the Chargers.
“It’s good that LJ has a game under his belt and that Rashad got out there and played a little bit last year,” Spagnuolo said Thursday. “I think any of the other nine guys need to step up.
“We need to help them here and there, make sure the quarterback isn’t sitting back there with the ball too long, which is where our D-Line comes into play. I’ve got to call certain things to help those guys out. All of that in mind, hopefully we can wrap it up into a good package and certainly all 11 of us will have some success and make sure those guys have it too.”
Meanwhile, Reid said defensive end Alex Okafor (hamstring) and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (elbow) are also out against the Chargers.
The Chiefs have depth on the edge with defensive ends Tanoh Kpassagnon and rookie Mike Danna. Taco Charlton and Demone Harris could also see their first action of the 2020 regular season after both players were inactive in Week 1.
Saunders played an important role as part of the interior defensive line rotation, but the Chiefs could either lean more on rookie Tershawn Wharton or elevate defensive tackle Braxton Hoyett from the practice squad.
For the Chargers, running back Justin Jackson (quadricip) is listed as doubtful after he missed a third straight day of practice.
Defensive end Joey Bosa (tricips) returned to a full practice Friday after being limited Thursday and not practicing Wednesday. The Chargers didn’t assign a game designation to Bosa, meaning the Chiefs will have to deal with a relatively healthy elite pass rusher.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 3:05 PM.
