Mansoor Delane landed on the Kansas City Chiefs‘ final injury report as questionable Friday despite a full week of practice heading into Sunday night.
The full week of work raises an obvious question, namely why label a healthy Delane questionable, with Kansas City set to open its secondary against the Indianapolis Colts?
Kansas City beat writer Pete Sweeney posted the team’s official final designations Friday afternoon. Safety Chamarri Conner (knee) and left tackle Josh Simmons (back) are out, while Delane (shoulder) and defensive tackle Chris Jones (calf) drew the questionable tag. Sweeney also noted that outside of Conner and Simmons, every other name on the report worked through Friday’s session.
| KANSAS CITY CHIEFS — INJURY REPORT | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs vs. Colts (Week 2) • Sunday, Sept. 20 | ||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Injury | Wed | Thu | Fri |
| 27 | Chamarri Conner | DB | Knee | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 71 | Josh Simmons | T | Back | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 5 | Mansoor Delane | CB | Shoulder | FP | FP | LP |
| 97 | Ashton Gillotte | DE | Foot | FP | FP | FP |
| 95 | Chris Jones | DT | Calf | LP | LP | LP |
| 4 | Rashee Rice | WR | Knee | FP | FP | FP |
| 38 | L’Jarius Sneed | CB | Knee | FP | LP | FP |
| 51 | R. Mason Thomas | DE | Hamstring | FP | FP | FP |
| 15 | Patrick Mahomes | QB | Knee | FP | FP | FP |
| DNP = Did Not Participate • LP = Limited Participation • FP = Full Participation. Game Status: Chamarri Conner (Out), Josh Simmons (Out), Mansoor Delane (Questionable), Chris Jones (Questionable). | ||||||
Chiefs’ Delane Practices Through Questionable Tag
“Delane practiced today. Chris Jones did a little bit today, too. He’ll be OK there,” Coach Andy Reid said, according to SI.com‘s Jordan Foote.
Delane took every rep as a full participant Wednesday and Thursday, and he stayed on the field Friday, too, according to Foote. The rookie cornerback hurt his shoulder intercepting Denver’s Bo Nix on the opening drive of Week 1, an injury that looked alarming in real time. X-rays came back showing a mild sprain, and Delane hasn’t missed a single practice since.
A questionable tag after a clean week of practice reads more like standard bookkeeping than a fresh setback. Once a player lands on a Wednesday injury report, teams routinely keep that designation through Friday even when the player has been cleared for every snap. Delane’s case fits that pattern more than it resembles a genuine game-time decision.
Players carrying a questionable tag into Sunday on the NFL’s final injury report from 2017 through 2024 played 70.7 percent of the time, while players marked doubtful played just 6.9 percent of the time, according to Footballguys injury analyst Adam Hutchison. A full week of practice tends to push a player toward the higher end of that range, while limited work all week leaves things closer to a true coin flip.
Chiefs Face Questions With Chris Jones Sidelined
Jones fits the limited-practice profile. The veteran tackle was limited Wednesday and Thursday before light work Friday. Calf tightness first surfaced last Friday, before Week 1, and already cut into Jones’ snap share against Denver, where he played roughly half the defensive load. Reid’s read still points toward Jones suiting up, but a reduced role remains realistic given the workload management already in play.
Conner and Simmons present more settled situations, since both stayed out all week. Conner, who led the Kansas City defense in snaps last season with 1,022, has been working without a helmet and has no firm return timeline, though Reid described his knee as improving.
Simmons, the team’s 2024 first-round draft pick left tackle, is nearing the two-week mark on a lingering back issue that has bothered him since training camp. Reid said the staff plans to re-evaluate him, adding that he’s feeling better but that his status for Sunday remains unresolved.
Kickoff between the Colts and the Chiefs is set for 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, with Kansas City looking to move to 2-0 and Indianapolis looking to bounce back from an opening loss to Baltimore. The Chiefs won’t finalize their inactive list until 90 minutes before kickoff.
Chiefs Announce Final Injury Decisions Before Colts Game