The Kansas City Chiefs have three players returning to practice on Friday, including star DT Chris Jones.
Jones, RB LeSean McCoy and QB Matt Moore will all practice in some capacity on Friday. McCoy and Moore were both out the past two days due to illnesses. It won’t be clear until after practice how much these players will participate but it’s a good sign that they’re all back.
Jones has been dealing with a calf injury that occurred toward the end of practice on Thursday, Jan. 9 ahead of the AFC divisional-round game against the Houston Texans. Yesterday, Andy Reid said Jones was getting better, but he just wasn’t there yet.
KC Star beat reporter Herbie Teope spotted all three players during the open portion of practice.
Notably, Jones is still wearing a compression sleeve on his right calf. His practice participation and game status designation will tell us a lot more about his chances of playing on Sunday. The importance of Jones in this game cannot be overstated. Against the Titans in Week 10, Jones had two sacks on QB Ryan Tannehill despite playing out of position at the defensive end spot for a good chunk of the game.
This appears to be the most significant day of practice so far for Chiefs’ players. They’ve been ramping up throughout the week with Wednesday and Thursday being lighter practice days.
Update: Jones spoke to the media following practice, which is unusual for an injured player. It raises some optimism for his status on Sunday, but Jones also stated that he’s considered day-to-day at this point in time. He was also limited in practice.