Kansas City Chiefs enter Day 2 of Tyrann Mathieu watch. He remains on COVID-19 list
Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu continues to miss practice while on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Whether he plays in Sunday’s season opener against the Cleveland Brown at Arrowhead Stadium remains to be seen.
The Chiefs, however, are planning for the worst-case scenario.
“It’s up in the air right now and it’s a little bit challenging to game plan for, but we’ve got Plan A and Plan B,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Thursday. “We would handle it no different, obviously, than somebody getting hurt in the middle of the game. Guys got to be ready to step up.
“The advantage we have, I guess versus that particular scenario, is we’re practicing with guys that we think might have to play.”
Safeties Juan Thornhill, Daniel Sorensen and Armani Watts help comprise the Chiefs’ active 53-player roster. Rookie Devon Key is on the Chiefs’ practice squad.
In the event of a Mathieu absence against the Browns, the Chiefs project to have Thornhill and Sorensen as their starters. Key could be elevated from the practice squad to provide depth alongside Watts, who is a core special teams contributor.
The Chiefs are holding out hope, of course, that Mathieu might be available play Sunday against the Browns despite missing practices at least twice this week.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid indicated Wednesday that Mathieu is the type of player who could play without practice, provided he passes all COVID-19 protocols and is fine physically.
“This dude we’re talking about is a special guy, in my opinion,” Spagnuolo said. “So, we’ll see.”
To that end, the Chiefs have included Mathieu in game preparations and meetings through a virtual environment. He isn’t physically on the field, but the opportunity to attend Zoom sessions is beneficial ahead of Sunday’s game.
“The camera sits right in front of me as I address them and he’s right there,” Spagnuolo said. “I get to talk to him a little bit in the meetings. He hasn’t missed a beat.”
A source previously told The Star that Mathieu is fully vaccinated, meaning the All-Pro safety is required to pass two negative tests within 24 hours.
In other injury news, the Chiefs announced that backup center Austin Blythe (sports hernia) would return to practice Thursday in some capacity.
Blythe, who didn’t practice Wednesday, underwent surgery in late August.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 1:09 PM.
