Kansas City Chiefs’ Tyrann Mathieu, Frank Clark returned to practice field Wednesday
The Chiefs were relatively healthy for Wednesday’s practice ahead of Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.
“No injuries today,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Wednesday morning. “Everybody will practice.”
Reid’s declaration was good news for defensive end Frank Clark, who was limited in three practices last week by a hamstring injury before being declared inactive for Sunday’s season opener against the Cleveland Browns.
The Chiefs’ head coach said Monday that Clark was “right on the edge of being right,” so the coming week will provide a good sign if the defensive end is ready to return to action. Clark originally suffered the injury on Aug. 12 during training camp and didn’t play in the Chiefs’ preseason games.
Against the Browns, the Chiefs relied on a defensive end rotation that included Mike Danna, who started in Clark’s place, Alex Okafor and rookie Joshua Kaindoh.
The Chiefs later in the afternoon officially listed Clark as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. Barring a setback, Clark is on track to make his return to the lineup.
Danna (groin), wide receiver Tyreek Hill (toe), running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (hip) also practiced fully. The Chiefs listed defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (glute) and center Austin Blythe (abdomen) as limited.
Safety Tyrann Mathieu returned to the practice field, as expected, and was not listed on the injury report.
Mathieu landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Sept. 1 and wasn’t activated until Sept. 11, a day before the season opener. The Chiefs, however, elected to list Mathieu as inactive against the Browns, starting Juan Thornhill alongside Daniel Sorensen on the back end of coverage.
Thornhill and Sorensen did their part, but the Chiefs missed not having their three-time All-Pro safety on the field.
“He’s a great player,” Reid said of Mathieu. “Not taking anything away from the other guys, I mean, they did a nice job back there, but you’re obviously going to miss somebody like that.
“So, he’s one of your primary signal-callers back there. It will be good to get him back in that role and keep the communication.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 2:09 PM.
