Leo Chenal Returns to Practice, Isiah Pacheco Still Out

The Kansas City Chiefs' week of practice continues as their Sunday matchup against the New England Patriots approaches. Four players sat out of practice on Wednesday, and that list is being trimmed down to three with both good and bad news coming from it.

According to the team, linebacker Leo Chenal (illness) is getting back out on the field on Thursday afternoon. Elsewhere, however, the same trio of running back Isiah Pacheco (shoulder), left tackle Donovan Smith (neck) and safety Mike Edwards (illness) is expected to miss practice yet again.

Kansas City had 11 players pop up on the Wednesday injury report: the aforementioned four, six players who were full participants and linebacker Nick Bolton (who was limited). Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said on Thursday that Bolton suffered some "bumps and bruises" in his first game back from a wrist injury. He's on the official report with an abdominal ailment this week.

Chiefs' offense facing harsh potential reality for Week 15

The most glaring injury news for the Chiefs comes on the offensive side of the ball. Pacheco, the club's leading running back, is now missing his fifth practice in a row following a shoulder contusion suffered in Week 13's loss to the Green Bay Packers. Kansas City typically requires healthy participation in practice on Friday for players to be actively involved on Sunday. Unless Pacheco makes significant progress soon, it's growing increasingly likely that the halfback duo of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon will lead the way against New England.

Along the offensive line, Smith's neck stinger appears to still be bothering him. Rookie third-round pick Wanya Morris relieved him and performed admirably in Week 13 (partially) and 14 (fully), so the team is comfortable rolling with him again if needed. With a light stretch of the schedule here, the Chiefs would be wise to value long-term health over immediate availability on the roster. 

Keep an eye on Kansas City's safety group this week

With second-year safety Bryan Cook already on the injured reserve with an ankle injury, the Chiefs entered Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills already thin at the position. Edwards being sick and missing practice for the second day in a row is bad news, although there's still hope that he can potentially practice on Friday. If he can't, expect another practice squad elevation for someone like Deon Bush and more heavy involvement for rookie Chamarri Conner. Special teams coordinator spoke about Conner on Thursday afternoon, citing his workload as something that needs to be monitored. 

"I hope I get him for the rest of the season," Toub said. "I hope that's the case. Yeah, he's a good football player. He's going to get more and more [snaps] on defense. I mean, the fact that he got 62 plays last game if you add up everything... I have to look at that all the time: how much a guy is getting. He was the most so if that continues, I'm going to have to pull him back. Right now, he's a four-phase guy. He plays on everything right now for me, and that may be something I have to do."