kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid provided his final Week 17 injury updates on Friday, December 29, and running back Isiah Pacheco appears to have taken a major step toward suiting up versus the Cincinnati Bengals.Pacheco suffered a concussion against the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day, but the ball-carrier returned to practice on Friday despite the quick turnaround for KC. ESPN’s Adam Teicher shared “photographic proof” of the running back on the practice field before Reid took the podium.
So, he practiced today — which is under… part of that [concussion] protocol,” Reid told reporters on Pacheco. “We have to see how he did after today.”Big Red’s next remarks were more telling. “Just from talking to him out there, he did well during the practice,” the Chiefs HC noted. Later, Reid tipped Pacheco’s expected availability even more by answering, “I don’t think we’re going to have to do that,” when asked about possibly having to “dig deep” into the running back depth.
For those that don’t follow Kansas City on a daily basis, it’s rare that Coach Reid is this revealing when it comes to injuries. Typically, he says very little at press conferences.Along with Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness) appears to be trending toward playing on New Year’s Eve.
“Yea, I think so,” Reid replied when asked about “CEH.” The coach added that “we just gotta get him through this [illness],” and that “he’s not feeling very good [but is] getting better
Keep in mind that the “I don’t think we’re going to have to do that” RB depth comment pertained to Edwards-Helaire as well.“They’d be fine,” Reid voiced on the idea of La’Mical Perine, Deneric Prince and Keaontay Ingram being called upon against the Bengals. “I don’t think we’re going to have to do that, but they’ll be fine.”Could that mean that either Pacheco or Edwards-Helaire — or both — will definitely be out there on Sunday?
