Chiefs’ Sammy Watkins on track to return with ‘pretty good chance’ to play vs. Bucs
This could be the weekend that the Chiefs finally have wide receiver Sammy Watkins (hamstring, calf) available on the field.
Watkins hasn’t played since Week 5, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after Friday’s practice that there’s a “pretty good chance” the wide receiver will play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And without a game designation assigned to him on Friday’s injury report, don’t expect the Chiefs to place limits on how much action Watkins sees.
“I’m not necessarily going to put him on a pitch count as much as I’ll keep an eye on him,” Reid said. “I have a pretty good feel on how he rolls, so we’ll be all right. And we talk, I mean, we communicate, so that’s important, too.”
Watkins put in three straight days of full practices this week, a first since before he suffered the hamstring injury in Week 5. The calf injury popped on the injury report last week before the Chiefs declared him as out against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Getting Watkins back this week proves timely, especially with the Chiefs placing wide receiver Byron Pringle on injured reserve earlier in the week.
Having four healthy options with Watkins, Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman has the Chiefs in a better place. The Chiefs would only need to pull up one wide receiver – either Marucs Kemp or Gehrig Dieter – from the practice squad to help out on special teams if needed.
Through the first five games, Watkins totaled 21 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns on 29 targets.
Watkins isn’t the only good news on the Chiefs injury report.
Tight end Travis Kelce (pec), left tackle Eric Fisher (ankle, shoulder), center Austin Reiter (knee), defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin), offensive lineman Mike Remmers (rib), defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (ankle), rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (collarbone), rookie linebacker Willie Gay Jr. (shoulder), rookie cornerback BoPete Keyes (ankle) and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (elbow) practiced fully for a third straight day.
None of the players carry a game designation, meaning they are available for a normal workload.
For the Buccaneers, center A.Q. Shipley (neck), tight end Tanner Hudson (not injury-related) and cornerback Jamel Dean (concussion) are ruled out against the Chiefs.
The Buccaneers listed guard Ali Marpet (concussion) and tackle Donovan Smith (ankle) as questionable. Smith missed all three days of practice this week.
