The Kansas City Chiefs will get some defensive reinforcements ahead of their divisional-round game against the Cleveland Browns.
According to the NFL’s official transactions report, the Chiefs have activated LB Anthony Hitchens and DE Mike Danna from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Hitchens tweeted last week, indicating that he’d returned to the team facility and would be back from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Danna was only recently placed on the list after being confirmed as a high-risk close contact to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
The return of Hitchens is big news for the Chiefs. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Dec. 22 and missed Week 16 against the Falcons and Week 17 against the Chargers as a result. He’s typically the defensive signal-caller for the team. He wears the green dot and in his absence, the team had relied on Ben Niemann and Darius Harris to relay the play call’s to the defense. Hitchens has also been heralded as the “glue guy” on defense. He makes all the individual units work together and play at their best.
Danna’s return is important for Kansas City too. He’s been a crucial part of the defensive line rotation, even as a rookie. One area where he’s been most impressive is his ability to set the edge in the run game, something that will be tested during the divisional playoff matchup against a Browns team that possesses a strong running game.
In a corresponding move, the team waived WR Gehrig Dieter, who was signed to the 53-man roster for Week 17. Expect Dieter to be re-signed to the practice squad in the coming days assuming he clears waivers.
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