The Kansas City Chiefs will be without an important piece of their offensive line, and could be missing their best defensive player for their Christmas Day matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kansas City ruled out left tackle D.J. Humphries in its final injury report, while listing defensive tackle Chris Jones as questionable.
Humphries has played in only one of five games since signing with Kansas City last month. He has been battling a hamstring injury and has not practiced at all since Week 14. In his absence, the Chiefs are likely to once again slide star guard Joe Thuney out to left tackle, with Mike Caliendo taking his place at left guard.
Jones, meanwhile, suffered a calf injury toward the tail end of the Chiefs' victory over the Texans last Saturday. He missed much of the fourth quarter and did not return, then was listed as a DNP (did dot practice) in Sunday's estimated injury report before also sitting out Monday's practice. He was listed as questionable in the final Tuesday report.
If he has to sit out, it will mean more snaps for players like Charles Omenihu, Derrick Nnadi, Mike Pennel, Tershawn Wharton and Felix Anudike-Uzomah against the Steelers. Pittsburgh's group up front has been better on the interior than the edges, and Jones is able to move freely between the defensive tackle and defensive end roles, so his presence would be missed.
The Chiefs have been carried by their defense for much of this season, though the offense got a lift last week with the return of Hollywood Brown. If Jones misses the game, it will put a bit more pressure on Patrick Mahomes and Co. to recapture some of the explosiveness they've shown in previous seasons.