Team news: Kansas City Chiefs | Page 12

Chiefs star TE Travis Kelce is out tonight against the #Lions. He may give it another try before kickoff. Either way, the bone bruise should not keep him out long-term.

Related Players: Matt Bushman, Noah Gray, Blake Bell

The answer to the Kelce replacement question may end up being "no one," as the team will now have three active TEs for TNF. Gray is interesting in very deep leagues, but none of the three options are recommended.

The Chiefs are elevating TE Matt Bushman from the practice squad for tonight's game against the Lions. Insurance in case Travis Kelce can’t go.

Related Players: Noah Gray, Blake Bell

The answer to the Kelce replacement question may end up being "no one," as the team will now have three active TEs for TNF. Gray is interesting in very deep leagues, but none of the three options are recommended if Kelce misses Week 1.

Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, who suffered a bone bruise to his knee at Tuesday’s practice, is being listed as questionable for Thursday night’s regular-season opener versus the Detroit Lions.

Related Players Noah Gray, the entire Chiefs offense

The immediate fantasy football beneficiary would likely be Noah Gray, who has popped with decent usage, particularly in a second-year stretch in 2022 when he accumulated 16 receptions for 187 yards and a touchdown in the seven games following the team’s Week 8 bye. Wide receiver Skyy Moore could be the biggest beneficiary, as Kadarius Toney is unlikely to start the season as a bona fide WR1 option, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling is mostly used as a deep threat.

There is some good news out of Kansas City on Travis Kelce after the tight end hyperextended his knee during Tuesday’s practice.

According to a report from NFL Media, Kelce is not believed to have suffered a long-term injury. Kelce’s status, however, is in doubt for Thursday’s season opener against Detroit.

The story went on to say the Chiefs plan to let the swelling go down in Kelce’s knee and reevaluate from there. Kelce, 33, was listed as a limited participant in Tuesday’s practice after exiting the session early. Receiver Skyy Moore said Kelce was able to walk off the field under his own power. As we said in an earlier post, now is the time to form a backup plan.

Chiefs’ HC Andy Reid told reporters that Travis Kelce hyper-extended his knee at practice today and his status for Thursday night’s opener vs the Lions is uncertain.

Related players: Noah Gray

Well, this will get the heart pumping... With most drafts in the books at this point, owners may want to jump on the wire ASAP and make sure you have a backup plan. Gray is next up on the Chiefs depth chart and should be available in typical leagues. He may be worth grabbing if you didn't address a TE2 option on your roster to this point and you play in deeper leagues. Hopefully we get more news leading up to Thursday night. At the very least we'll know Kelce's status 90 minutes before the start of the game.

Judging from how the Chiefs utilized their receivers in training camp, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson will get the most playing time. Kadarius Toney missed all of camp after having surgery for a torn meniscus, but is back at practice and should be available to play against the Lions.

It’s less clear how much the others might play. But they all bring something to the group. Richie James has the most single-season catches of the group, having caught 57 passes for the New York Giants last season. The Chiefs tried to get the ball to Rashee Rice on plays like screens and pop passes during the preseason to highlight his ability to run after the catch.

Justyn Ross is big at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds. Veach suggested he could take the red zone role held last year by Jody Fortson, who is out for the season with a shoulder injury.

Rice, a second-round draft pick, is a rookie. Ross is playing his first season with the Chiefs. He joined last season as an undrafted rookie but didn’t play because of injuries.

The Chiefs claim they will use their WRs based on defenses and who they are playing, allowing them to attack in different ways. While a lot of the young WRs got attention over the summer at some point - either working with the first team or just standing out - the story said Rice and Ross, especially, could see their roles be limited early in the season or at least until the coaches are comfortable with giving them a bigger workload. The Chiefs receivers could be a frustrating group for fantasy purposes, at least early on in the season.

The Kansas City Chiefs have clarified the picture at running back after a competitive preseason in which there appeared to be multiple lead changes, so to speak, on the team's depth chart. In the end, the team decided to waive Deneric Prince rather than leave him on the active roster—at least by the league's deadline.

Related players: Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, La'Mical Perine

Prince was getting headlines recently as he was running with the first team. But as of late the rumors started flying that he wasn't going to make the team and he's officially waived. Some thought Prince could cut into McKinnon's work on passing downs.

Through two preseason games, Prince hasn’t managed a memorable snap. He has generated just 34 rushing yards on 10 attempts. Prince also appears to have lost his spot as the primary kickoff returner to Richie James, the six-year veteran receiver.

“As a rookie, the volume (of plays during camp) starts to hit you a little bit and it can slow you down,” Nagy said of Prince. “We have a great room of running backs. There’s great competition, and we’re trying to give all the guys (an) opportunity in different spots.”

Related Players: Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Clyde Edwards-Helaire La'Mical Perine

The article goes on to mention that La'Mical Perine has jumped over Prince on the running back depth chart, and even he is trying to make a case as the team's No. 4 option if they were to keep a fourth running back. Prince had positive buzz after handling some first-team reps earlier in the Summer, but that has faded after uninspiring reps in the preseason.

Andy Reid said Isiah Pacheco will no longer work in a yellow, non-contact jersey, a positive sign for him ahead of the Sept. 7 season opener against the Lions.

Related players: Jerick McKinnon, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, La'Mical Perine, Deneric Prince

Pacheco seems like he's on track to play Week 1 and looks to have a pretty clear path as the team's RB1. McKinnon, or the often cast-off Edwards-Helaire, will likely see some work as well and primarily catch passes. Prince has faded a bit from the headlines after getting some first-team reps recently.

Titans WR Treylon Burks suffered an LCL sprain during practice today, sources say after the MRI. This is good news, as Burks should only miss a few weeks. A scare, but a solid result considering.

Related Players: DeAndre Hopkins, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Chris Moore

Burks' rapidly descending ADP should continue its downward trajectory, which could certainly make him a target if Hopkins doesn't become a complete target hog in this run-heavy offense. Consider Burks a WR5 target as he falls well into the double-digit rounds, with upside if he makes a complete return close to Week 1.