KC Chiefs‘ L’Jarius Sneed ‘in a good place’ and ‘ready to go,’ Andy Reid says
The Chiefs find themselves needing to adapt without numerous players this week, including cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Rashad Fenton, who are on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
The timing couldn’t be worse because of a looming Sunday afternoon matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium.
But the return of starting right cornerback L’Jarius Sneed will help soften the blow if the Chiefs are forced to play Sunday without Ward, who starts at the left cornerback spot, and Fenton.
Sneed was back on the practice field Wednesday after missing two games following the death of his brother.
“We’re glad that he’s back,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “L’Jarius has gone through a couple rough weeks here, but he’s in a good place and is ready to go. And so that’s great, great to get him back in.
“I think it’s good for our team, and I also think it’s good for him just overall to kind of keep his mind off the other thing, so he’ll be able to move forward there. Everybody is fired up to have him back.”
Sneed is arguably the Chiefs’ best-tackling cornerback, and his 62 takedowns are the third-most on the team. But the second-year pro’s presence on the field would further allow the Chiefs to remain flexible at the cornerback position in the event Ward and/or Fenton cannot play.
Mike Hughes, who started in Sneed’s place the past two games, can slide to Ward’s spot or move inside against an opposing slot receiver. The Chiefs also have Deandre Baker, who can play outside. And safety Tyrann Mathieu can slide inside and defend a slot receiver, if necessary.
Sneed wasn’t the only player the Chiefs welcomed back to the practice field Wednesday. Rookie defensive end Joshua Kaindoh was observed going through stretching/conditioning and individual position drills for the first time since going on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain on Oct. 5.
Reid confirmed that Kaindoh, who has missed 10 straight games, was designated to return from injured reserve.
“He’s made great progress,” Reid said. “We’re glad that he’s back and healthy, and we’ll just see how things go here.”
Kaindoh’s return to practice opens a 21-day window for the Chiefs to decide to either activate their 2021 fourth-round pick or leave him on injured reserve.
The Chiefs later in the afternoon listed linebacker Ben Niemann (ankle) and offensive lineman Andrew Wylie (knee) as full participants in Wednesday’s practice.
The team’s injury report does not include players still on the COVID list: Ward, Fenton, defensive tackle Chris Jones, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, tight ends Travis Kelce and Blake Bell, offensive linemen Lucas Niang and Kyle Long, rookie linebacker Nick Bolton, safety Armani Watts and kicker Harrison Butker. For now, they do not count against the Chiefs’ active 53-player roster.
Linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and wide receiver Josh Gordon cleared the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol Wednesday and were on the practice field.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 3:14 PM with the headline "KC Chiefs‘ L’Jarius Sneed ‘in a good place’ and ‘ready to go,’ Andy Reid says."
