Chiefs Injury Report: Two players sit out of practice as focus begins to shift toward Week 1 vs. Ravens

The Kansas City Chiefs are doing a bit of dress rehearsal during practice this week ahead of Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season against the Baltimore Ravens.

As LB Drue Tranquill indicated at the podium after practice, Monday served as an opportunity for the first-team offense to face the first-team defense in practice again. They're not quite into game week yet, and they'll further install gameplan specifics later in the week once roster cuts have concluded.

While the Chiefs are mostly healthy heading into Week 1, they had a few players absent from practice on Monday. They also had a few players returning to action. Let's get into it.

WR Hollywood Brown, CB Joshua Williams not practicing on Monday

It should come as no surprise that WR Marquise "Hollywood" Brown did not participate in practice on Monday. After his sternoclavicular joint injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars in preseason Week 1, he's a long shot to be ready for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season against his former team. The latest update on his injury status came on Aug. 22, when he responded to a comment on X:

Brown hasn't been ruled out yet, but it's much more likely that he'll be cleared to play in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals or Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons.

As for the defensive side of the ball, Joshua Williams remained out of practice due to a hamstring injury. He suffered the injury during practice ahead of the preseason Week 3 game against the Bears. It's just the latest injury in a cornerback room that has seemed to provide more questions than answers this offseason.

As for the good news. . .

DT Chris Jones, OT Wanya Morris, and RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire return to practice

Three players returned to practice for the Chiefs on Monday, two after sitting out the final game of the preseason. Star defensive tackle Chris Jones, who had been dealing with a shoulder injury for a few weeks, was back on the practice field. There was never any serious concern there.

However, there was some serious concern for OT Wanya Morris, who reinjured his knee in preseason Week 3 against the Bears . He had previously suffered a bone bruise during training camp and had sat out because of it. Morris was back at practice on Monday as the team resumed work following that preseason Week 3 game on Thursday.

Finally, RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who has dealt with an illness caused by his PTSD , was back on the practice field on Monday. That's a good sign of his availability for the 2024 NFL season and certainly helps his chances at making the 53-man roster.

RB Louis Rees-Zammit exits practice early with a reoccurring back injury

RB Louis Rees-Zammit, wearing a new jersey number after the return of WR JuJu Smith-Schuster , was unable to complete practice on Monday. He left practice early with a back injury according to multiple reports. Rees-Zammit previously dealt with back tightness during training camp , which led us to speculate that he could be stashed on injured reserve for a redshirt season. The latest reoccurrence of the injury only furthers the likelihood of the famed mystery IR stash for the former rugby star.

RG Trey Smith and TE Irv Smith Jr. also left practice early due to heat exhaustion.

Other notable absences

As the Chiefs whittle down their roster to 53 players, several players on the 90-man offseason roster were not present for practice. The team announced shortly after practice that all of the players had been waived .

• QB Ian Book
  
• WR Kyle Sheets
  
• DT Alex Gubner
  
• OL Nick Torres
  
• WR Phillip Brooks
  
• CB Kelvin Joseph
• CB Ekow Boye-Doe
• CB Miles Battle
• DE Owen Carney
• TE Geor'Quarius Spivey
• OL Griffin McDowell
  
• LS Randen Platner

You can find our roster cuts tracker here .

Related: Three position groups the Chiefs must look to improve during 53-man roster cuts