Hitchens, Saunders out for KC Chiefs vs. Giants, but Jones, Mathieu practiced Saturday
The Chiefs will officially be missing two defensive players because of lingering injuries for Monday night’s game against the New York Giants at Arrowhead Stadium.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Saturday that starting linebacker Anthony Hitchens (tricep) and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (knee) have been ruled out for the Week 8 game.
Hitchens suffered his injury in Week 6 and did not play last weekend, while Saunders’ knee swelled up after last week’s loss to the Tennessee Titans. Neither player practiced this past week.
Ben Niemann, Willie Gay Jr. and rookie Nick Bolton project as the Chiefs’ starting linebackers in Hitchens’ absence. The Chiefs are also likely to elevate a linebacker from their practice squad to their 53-player roster to bolster their depth, as they did in promoting linebackers Darius Harris and Christian Rozeboom for the Tennessee game.
Bolton recorded a team-high 15 tackles against the Titans.
Defensive lineman Chris Jones and safety Tyrann Mathieu were observed on the field during the portion of Saturday’s practice that was open to the media. Jones was excused from Thursday’s and Friday’s practice because of personal reasons, while Mathieu didn’t practice Friday because of an illness.
The Chiefs later in the afternoon didn’t assign a game designation on the injury report for Jones or Mathieu. Both players put in a full practice and should be available for a normal full workload against the Giants.
Right tackle Mike Remmers (knee) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (foot) were also on the practice field Saturday, albeit in a limited fashion for a second straight day. The Chiefs designated Remmers and Ward as questionable for Monday night’s game.
If Remmers can’t play, the Chiefs are likely to turn to rookie Lucas Niang, who started the first five games at right tackle before Remmers took over in Week 6.
For the Giants, running back Saquon Barkley (ankle), wide receiver Kenny Golladay (knee), linebacker Lorenzo Carter (ankle), linebacker Carter Coughlin (ankle) and safety Nate Ebner (ankle) are ruled out for the game at Arrowhead. The Giants designated rookie wide receiver Kadarius Toney (ankle), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (hamstring) and tight end Kaden Smith (knee) as questionable.
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 2:27 PM.
