Wide receiver Kadarius Toney and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed play a vital role for the Kansas City Chiefs on their respective sides of the football. Both players succumbed to injuries during training camp and missed the entire preseason with a projected timeline of returning to 100% by the start of the regular season.
As the Chiefs’ season opener approaches – only three days left – head coach Andy Reid said both of his guys are on track to play Thursday night, but the coaching staff is still going to be cautious.
“We’ll take it day by day, but right now, I’d tell you they’re good to go,” Reid told reporters after the team’s first practice on Sunday. “[Toney] practiced the other day, fast — and he’ll get in there and do the same thing, and then we’ll just take it day by day, make sure he’s feeling all right, his leg. I’d tell you the same thing with Sneed. The same deal. We’ll just kind of play it by ear.”
The Chiefs acquired Toney through a trade with the New York Giants on October 28 last season, and was an instant match with Patrick Mahomes and company as the former first-rounder recorded 14 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns in seven games. After Sunday’s practice, Mahomes gave more reasons to be optimistic about Toney’s injury status.
“The talent that he has, the competitor that he is to be able to go out there and have that weapon, would definitely be a huge positive,” Mahomes said. “He’s done a great job and the practices that he’s been in so far. I’m looking forward to him continuing to step up and be even better and be more like his normal self, which I mean, honestly, going out there the first day and first few days and seeing him, he looks like KT (Kadarius Toney) and so I’m excited for that. He put a lot of time in that rehab process so that he can get himself ready, hopefully, to play in this first week.”
Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy also expects Toney to make a full recovery.
“For us, I think [Toney’s] looked really good coming back here,” said Nagy. “He looks like he’s in shape, and he has stayed locked in with the playbook, so now we’ll just let the flow of the game dictate how we use him and what we do with him.”
As for L’Jarius Sneed, he has made a comeback since the team said there was swelling in his knee in July. Sneed hadn’t seen the field since. On Monday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said he’s leaving it up to the veteran corner how many snaps he plays on Thursday.
“I’m going to leave that up to LJ because, listen, we want him healthy,” said Spagnuolo. “He practiced really well [Sunday]. I think [the media] probably saw a little bit of it. He’s doing real well, so fingers crossed. When he’s out there, he makes a difference.”
Having Toney and Sneed back in the lineup will be a huge plus for the Chiefs as they prepare for a scary good Detroit Lions squad that has a ton of confidence after finishing last season winning eight of their last ten games.
