Only one Chiefs player listed as out for Monday Ravens game. Could Watkins, Ward play?
The injury bug has struck a slew of NFL teams over the first two weeks, but the Chiefs haven’t yet been among them.
The Chiefs will travel nearly their full roster when they make the trip to Baltimore for a highly anticipated Monday Night Football game pitting a pair of the AFC’s best against one another.
Defensive end Alex Okafor, who injured his hamstring in the season opener against Houston, is the only Chiefs player listed as out for Monday’s game. Every other player participated in at least a portion of Saturday’s practice, the final session before Monday’s game.
Wide receiver Sammy Watkins (concussion/neck), cornerback Charvarius Ward (hand) and linebacker Dorian O’Daniel (knee/ankle) are listed as questionable to play.
The Ravens also have just one player listed as out — cornerback Tavon Young. But guard D.J. Fluker, linebacker Anthony Levine, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike and wide receiver Chris Moore are questionable to play.
Watkins absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit last week that drew head coach Andy Reid’s ire as one that should have been flagged. Before the Chiefs return Watkins to the field, he must be medically cleared because he spent time in the concussion protocol, though it’s a neck injury that required treatment this week.
He practiced in full Saturday.
“He had a stiff neck, and a tribute to the kid, he lived in the training room and got the knot in there worked out,” Reid said. “I think he feels pretty good right now. We’ll just monitor him as we got and see how he does.”
Ward returned to practice this week after fracturing his hand in the season opener. He was a limited participant at practice Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Linebacker Dorian O’Daniel was a late addition the injury report Friday with a knee and ankle issue that kept him out of practice that day, but he returned as a full participant Saturday. O’Daniel has been used sparingly on defense, but he’s a special teams ace, seeing 41 snaps on that unit in the first two weeks.
This story was originally published September 26, 2020 at 2:28 PM.