Will Chiefs’ Trent McDuffie, Willie Gay play vs. 49ers Sunday? ‘We’ll see how it goes’
The Trent McDuffie Watch continues ahead of the Chiefs’ Sunday afternoon game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said McDuffie would practice Wednesday but stopped short of saying the team would activate him from injured reserve before Sunday’s game.
“We’ll just see how he does as we go,” Reid said.
The Chiefs designated McDuffie to return from injured reserve last week, which officially opened a 21-day window in which the team must decide whether to bring him back to the 53-player roster or keep him on IR.
McDuffie was on the practice field last week for three days, but the Chiefs elected to not activate him for last Sunday’s home game against the Buffalo Bills. With McDuffie not playing, the Chiefs’ corners were L’Jarius Sneed, rookie Jaylon Watson and rookie Joshua Williams, who saw increased playing time with Rashad Fenton (hamstring) inactive.
The Chiefs were set to use the next three days of practice to continue their evaluation of McDuffie. If the team feels the first-round pick is ready for action, the Chiefs can choose to activate him at any time up until Saturday’s NFL deadline of 3 p.m. Central Time.
Reid said linebacker Willie Gay Jr., whose four-game NFL suspension ended Monday, would practice Wednesday, too. Gay, who received a roster exemption, isn’t officially back on the Chiefs’ 53-player roster; team officials are still determining when to officially activate him.
“We’ll just see how it goes,” Reid said.
While the Chiefs continue to bide their time on the returns of McDuffie and Gay, the team was set to practice Wednesday without Fenton, left guard Joe Thuney (ankle) and defensive end Mike Danna (calf).
In the case of Thuney and Danna, the Chiefs are erring on the side of caution.
“We’re just monitoring those two guys,” Reid said.
Thuney was hurt in Week 6 against the Bills but finished the game and played all 67 offensive snaps. Danna made his return to action in Week 6 for the first time since Week 2 and played 25 defensive snaps.
Reid said safety Bryan Cook, who suffered a concussion in Week 5 and didn’t play in Week 6, would practice Wednesday. Cook’s participation in practice is another step in the concussion protocol before he can return to full action.
The Chiefs later in the afternoon listed Cook as a limited participant. Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (knee), guard Trey Smith (pectoral), kicker Harrison Butker (ankle) and wide receiver Mecole Hardman (heel) practiced fully.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs won’t have tight end Blake Bell and offensive lineman Lucas Niang back this week.
Bell remains on injured reserve as he recovers from a hip injury and Niang (knee) is on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Both players are eligible to return to the 53-player roster.
“Most likely it will be after the bye (Oct. 30) ...” Reid said. “They are getting better, and we just have to see how it goes.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 1:24 PM.
