Chiefs’ Mitchell Schwartz, Sammy Watkins miss second straight day of practice
Thursday brought no significant change to the Chiefs’ practice/injury report.
The team announced that right tackle Mitchell Schwartz (back), wide receiver Sammy Watkins (hamstring), defensive end Alex Okafor (hamstring) and defensive end Taco Charlton (knee) wouldn’t do on-field work for a second straight day.
Two missed practices leave the Chiefs short of two starters and two key members of the defensive pass-rush rotation as they prepare to face the Denver Broncos.
If Schwartz can’t play in Week 7, the Chiefs are likely to go with Mike Remmers at right tackle and Nick Allegretti at left guard. Both players filled those spots after Schwartz left after playing just eight snaps Monday at Buffalo.
Watkins faces the possibility of missing a second straight game after suffering the hamstring injury in Week 5. The Chiefs will continue to rely on Demarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle in Watkins’ place.
Kansas City’s depth at defensive end behind Frank Clark and Tanoh Kpassagnon might be tested if Okafor and Charlton can’t play. Demone Harris, who has been a healthy inactive through six games, is the remaining defensive end on the Chiefs’ active roster, and he might be called upon for his first action of the season Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs made three roster moves in order to put additional players on the practice field.
Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who landed on injured reserve early in the season with an elbow injury, was designated for return; offensive lineman Martinas Rankin (knee) was designated as returning to practice but remains on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list; and quarterback Jordan Ta’amu returned to the practice squad from the reserve/COVID-19 list.
In the case of Rankin’s return to practice, the Chiefs officially have a three-day window to decide whether to move him to the active roster or keep him on the PUP list. Rankin has been working back from a season-ending knee injury suffered in Week 10 of the 2019 regular season.
The Chiefs listed defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin), defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (ankle), cornerback Charvarius Ward (hand), left tackle Eric Fisher (shoulder), running back Darrel Williams (shoulder), center Austin Reiter (knee) and tight end Nick Keizer as full participants for a second straight day.
This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 1:37 PM.
