Week 17 of the NFL regular season presents an opportunity for one of the Kansas City Chiefs offensive stars to return to the lineup after missing Week 16’s drubbing of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday, December 20 along with kicker Harrison Butker and cornerback Charvarius Ward. A total of 11 Chiefs players were placed on that list in Week 16, which included wide receiver Tyreek Hill, linebacker Nick Bolton, punter Tommy Townsend, and offensive lineman Lucas Niang.
After serving his 10-day quarantine, Kelce, along with Niang and Bolton, are expected to return to the Chiefs’ active roster for practice on Wednesday, December 29, according to The Athletic’s Nate Taylor.
Travis Kelce, Lucas Niang & Nick Bolton are expected to return to the Chiefs’ active roster before tomorrow’s practice, per a source.
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All three players were activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Christmas Day, however, they were inactive for the team’s December 26 game against the Steelers. Now, they will return to practice and get several sessions in before they have their tough matchup against the Bengals in Cincinnati on Sunday, January 2.
Andy Reid: ‘Good Shot’ More Reinforcements Coming
Along with Kelce, Niang, and Bolton returning to the lineup, head coach Andy Reid believes there’s a “good shot” that most of the Chiefs players that are on the Reserve/COVID-19 list will make their return to the lineup in Week 17.
“I think we have a good shot at that. This thing is so unpredictable, that’s the hard part about it, so we’ll just see how it goes,” Reid said during his press conference on Monday, December 27. “If I had to guess, I think they’d probably be back, but let’s just see how it goes this week.”
Andy Reid on getting players on COVID-19 list back this week: “I think we have a good shot at that. This thing is so unpredictable. … But if I had to guess, I think they’d probably be back. Let’s just see how it goes.”
At the start of the week, there were 10 total Chiefs players between the active roster, practice squad, and injured reserve that were on the Reserve/COVID-list. The most recent news means there are seven players remaining that will attempt to test out of the COVID protocols this week: Butker, Townsend, cornerback Rashad Fenton, safety Armani Watts, linebacker Darius Harris, wide receiver Daurice Fountain, and offensive lineman Mike Remmers (IR).
NFL Changing COVID Quarantine Protocols
In Week 17 the league decided to fall in line with the CDC’s new guidelines for quarantining. The NFL and the NFLPA have now adopted the CDC’s new guideline, which allows players that test positive but are asymptomatic to only have to quarantine for five days instead of 10 days, including those who are unvaccinated, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
NFL and NFLPA now have adopted the new CDC guidelines that reduce the quarantine time to 5 days from 10 days for all Covid positive players who are asymptomatic, including those who are unvaccinated, per sources.
After a record 106 NFL players landed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday, December 26, the league is trying to allow some of the players that are not experiencing symptoms and are at very low risk of spreading the virus to return to the lineup at a much faster pace. Doing it this way will allow players that test positive early in the week to have a much greater chance of playing in their next game, regardless of their vaccination status.
This is good news for a Chiefs team that can use all the help they can get in Week 17.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Kansas City has not only locked up the division but also remains in first place in the AFC. That means they will have a bye week at the beginning of the postseason if they remain in this spot.
In Week 17, Kansas City travels to face the Bengals, who are coming off a 41-21 win over the Baltimore Ravens in which second-year quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 525 yards and four touchdowns.
Joe Burrow has 525 passing yards 😳
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The Bengals, who currently sit at 9-6 on the season, are hungry to finish the season strong so they can cement themselves in the AFC playoff picture. That’s why the Chiefs need to carry their efforts against the Steelers into this next game if they want to come out with a ninth straight victory.
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Update on Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s Week 17 Status