Bills vs. Chiefs: Midweek injury trend adds twist to KC’s kicks

There are only three days left until the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs entertain football lovers around the world with a matchup between the AFC’s perennial front-runners. But who exactly will be included in the list of characters participating in Sunday’s show is still very much in question.

Let’s take a look at how the Bills and Chiefs are dealing with injuries this week.

Injured Bills trend toward play

WR Amari Cooper WR Curtis Samuel

Wide receiver Curtis Samuel has been playing the past two weeks, although his minutes have been limited through practice. He is practicing well now and will definitely play on Sunday. The bigger question mark in recent weeks has been wide receiver Amari Cooper. He injured his wrist just one and a half games into a Bills uniform. Since then, Cooper has been a question mark until just before kick-off, but he was withdrawn from the game and was seen by the cast before kick-off. He is currently able to catch passes and is optimistic about playing in Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.

Bill’s injury is still questionable.

Spencer Brown injured his ankle during Buffalo’s win in Indianapolis last week. He has returned to play but has not yet practiced. The issue appears to stem from the fact that he injured his outside ankle while lining up at right tackle, his normal position. If he can practice on Friday, we might see him on Sunday. But I expect him to enter the weekend with at least a questionable pick.

Injured Bills tend not to play.

TE Dalton Kincaid WR Keon Coleman LB Matt Milano

Tight end Dalton Kincaid has not practiced and, unlike Brown, missed Sunday’s game with an injury. With tight ends Dawson Knox and Quintin Morris (relatively) healthy, expect to see him ruled out before the weekend begins.

Head coach Sean McDermott said Monday that neither Coleman nor Milano will play this weekend. But in case you were wondering, both have participated in practice, and Milano appears to have no problem making the active roster at the end of the 21-day practice period.

Bills players still on injured reserve (IR)

OT Tyran Grable (groin/core) DT Dwayne Carter (wrist) DE Doan Smoot (wrist) LB Baylon Specter (calf)

Injured Chiefs tend not to play.

DE Charles Omenihu (knee) RB Isaiah Pacheco (ankle) K Harrison Butker knee)

Earlier in the week, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said before Sunday’s game that he did not expect either Omenihu or Pacheco to be added to the active roster. The two practiced this week, but it was limited, indicating they will continue practicing for another week before being active on game day.

On Thursday, the Chiefs announced that kicker Harrison Butker will be heading to IR due to a torn meniscus in his non-kicking knee that will require surgery.

On Sunday, the Chiefs, who need a kicker for at least the next three weeks, will sign 25-year-old Spencer Shrader from the New York Jets’ practice squad. The rookie kicker made two shots from 45 yards in last week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Week 9 was Schrader’s second time kicking in an NFL game, and he was perfect in Week 1 with three extra-point attempts as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. All of Schrader’s kickoffs went into the end zone for touchbacks.

Injured Chiefs trend toward play

On Wednesday, Reed said he was optimistic Smith-Schuster would be back on the field Sunday. The wide receiver, who has been sidelined for the past three weeks, started on a limited basis this week but was able to participate fully in Thursday’s practice.

Chiefs players still on Injured Reserve (IR)

WR Hollywood Brown WR Skye Moore WR Laci Rice CB Jalen Watson

Tomorrow’s practice and subsequent injury designation will tell us what Sunday’s roster will look like.