Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Philadelphia Eagles held a walkthrough on Wednesday and as the team starts preparation for Super Bowl LVll Landon Dickerson was among five who did not participate
Wednesday injury report #SuperBowlLVII pic.twitter.com/DdSx3MLgkL
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 1, 2023
The Eagles released their first injury report ahead of Super Bowl LVll, and Landon Dickerson was among five players who did not participate in the walkthrough.
Philadelphia will hold another walkthrough on Thursday, then the team will practice on Friday and Saturday at the NovaCare Complex before departing at 3:00 PM on Sunday for Arizona.
We’re looking at 10 early stats to know for the #SuperBowlLVll matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs
Super Bowl LVll is set and it’ll have several significant storylines after the Chiefs defeated the Bengals 23-20 in the AFC Championship Game.
Legendary head coach Andy Reid will face his former team, while Jason and Travis Kelce will make the first siblings to face each other in the Super Bowl.
Travis Kelce caught seven balls for 78 yards and a touchdown in Kansas City’s three-point AFC Championship win, while Philadelphia amassed 148 rushing yards in a 31-7 NFC Championship win.
The Super Bowl will be a rematch of a 2021 regular season meeting in which Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes and the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 42-30.
In that 2021 matchup, Reid returned to Philadelphia and earned his 100th career win with the Chiefs, becoming the first coach in NFL history to win 100 games with two teams.
Reid’s 140 victories with the Eagles are the most in franchise history.
The 2021 matchup was also a coming-out party for Jalen Hurts who threw for a career-high 387 yards and two touchdowns but Philadelphia (1-3) couldn’t keep up with Kansas City’s high-powered offense.
With preparation underway for both teams, here are 10 initial stats to know for Super Bowl LVll.
The #Chiefs offensive line was well-represented on The Associated Press Second-Team All-Pro roster.
The Kansas City Chiefs offensive line was well-represented among The Associated Press Second-Team All-Pro roster.
The Chiefs’ offensive line has been regarded as one of the best in the NFL for the past two seasons. While they didn’t get any First-Team All-Pro selections this year, they had two players earn enough of the vote to receive Second-Team All-Pro nods. Of course, those players play on the offensive line interior in Kansas City, which has been dominant all season long.
First up is Chiefs’ second-year center Creed Humphrey, who finished the 2022 NFL regular season with a clean sheet in the sack statistic. He received the second-most votes (16) next to First-Team All-Pro Eagles C Jason Kelce (32). This is Humphrey’s first All-Pro selection in his career and it certainly won’t be his last.
Next was Joe Thuney, who has been the veteran anchor on the team’s offensive line. While Browns LG Joel Bitonio received the majority of the votes (36), Thuney had the second-most votes (8) and a higher percentage of points than Colts LG Quenton Nelson, Eagles LG Landon Dickerson and Ravens LG Ben Powers. This is Thuney’s second career Second-Team All-Pro selection, with his first coming in 2019 when he was still with the New England Patriots.
You can find out more about the team’s First-Team All-Pro selections down below.
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#Chiefs HC Andy Reid gave several injury updates on Wednesday, including that K Harrison Butker is dealing with back spasms.
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid addressed the media following practice on Wednesday in what was his first time speaking with media members this week.
After an opening statement sending prayers to Bills S Damar Hamlin, Reid provided an update on the team’s injury situation. He began with a new injury that could be a cause for concern.
“I can talk about our injuries here,” Reid told reporters. “Harrison Butker hurt his back. His back had spasms and he didn’t practice. It’s getting better as we go here, but he did have some back spasms and we just pulled off of him.”
Asked whether the team would need to bring in another kicker for this week, Reid didn’t rule it out.
“Yeah, there’s a chance we do,” Reid said. “He’s doing OK, but just from a security standpoint, there’s a chance we might do that. That’s nothing with Harrison (Butker), we have full trust in Harrison.”
It’s worth noting that Matthew Wright, who kicked for the Chiefs when Harrison Butker was dealing with an ankle injury, is currently a free agent.
Reid continued with the injury update, this time speaking about players who were considered limited participants in practice.
“Guys that were limited — Mecole (Hardman) went out and did some good work today,” Reid said. “We’re going to see how he feels tomorrow. He’s day-by-day. He’s trying his heart out to get back in here. L’Jarius Sneed with the hip pointer. Skyy Moore with the hand came out and did just a few things. That hand is still swollen and sore. Have I talked to you since (Week 17)? He split open his hand and had sutures put in. He’s recovering from that.”
Sneed and Moore both returned to practice after missing practice on Tuesday.
Wednesday afternoon marks the deadline for the Chiefs to activate WR Mecole Hardman to the 53-man roster from injured reserve. Reid explained that he was leaving all of that up to GM Brett Veach and his staff.
“Brett (Veach) is going to go through that and make sure that he’s got everything covered there,” Reid said. “We’ll just see how that goes. I hadn’t talked to him before I came in here about that.”
Finally, Reid gave a status update on Joe Thuney, who re-injured his ankle in Week 17.
“Joe Thuney, I had mentioned, hurt his ankle,” Reid said. “He’s practiced the last two days. He’s doing good there.”
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Some injured players were spotted at #Chiefs practice on Tuesday, but one defender hurt in Week 17 was notably absent.
The Kansas City Chiefs are not holding their regularly-scheduled media availability to start the practice week, which means we’ll have to wait another day for Andy Reid to brief reporters on the team’s injury situation. Reporters did get a brief look-in as things got underway at practice on Tuesday.
According to both ESPN’s Adam Teicher and 610 Sports Radio’s Pete Sweeney, WR Mecole Hardman was back at practice to start the week. Hardman missed the final two practice sessions last week after dealing with some pain. His 21-day practice window expires on Wednesday, which means the team has to make a decision on his activation to the 53-man roster.
Of the players who suffered injuries during Week 17 against the Broncos, two were spotted at practice in some capacity.
We spotted WR Mecole Hardman and LG Joe Thuney warming up at the brief Chiefs media look. WR Skyy Moore was watching but not participating. No CB L’Jarius Sneed.
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) January 3, 2023
LG Joe Thuney, who was ruled out of the Week 17 game with an ankle injury, was spotted on the practice field and warming up. WR Skyy Moore, who suffered a laceration on his hand, was spotted on the sideline without his helmet, suggesting he would not practice in full.
Notably, CB L’Jarius Sneed was not seen on the practice field. Sneed was reported to have suffered a minor hip pointer injury during an interception return. He ended up exiting the game briefly before coming back in to finish the game. It’s possible that he’s just getting a day off early in the practice week before testing things out.
We’ll keep you posted on the official practice status of each player when the injury report is released later this afternoon.
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#Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke on injuries to LG Joe Thuney and WR Skyy Moore after the Week 17 win over the #Broncos.
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid addressed reporters following the Week 17 win over the Denver Broncos, giving his typical postgame injury report to kick things off.
The first half of the game was fairly clean, but the injuries started piling up during the second half of the game. The first was an ankle injury to starting left guard Joe Thuney. Reid explained that it was, in fact, the same ankle that Thuney had injured earlier this season.
“As far as the injuries go, Joe Thuney reinjured that ankle,” Reid said. “We just have to see where it goes from here. They’ll MRI it and do all of that.”
Thuney initially injured his ankle in Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills, but he didn’t miss any time until Week 12 against Los Angeles Rams and Week 13 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Hopefully, nothing serious is revealed with the MRI and Thuney can get back on the field come the postseason. Expect the team to be cautious with Thuney in Week 18.
Two more injuries popped up for Kansas City in the fourth quarter of the game.
“Skyy Moore had a laceration on the inside of his hand,” Reid said. “We’ll have to take care of that too. We’ll just see how he does here in the next couple of days.”
Moore was ruled out with the hand laceration, which suggests that the laceration was significant and could require stitches. It isn’t expected to be an injury that will keep him off the field, though. If all goes well, he should be back out there against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed suffered a hip injury during the game and was ruled questionable to return. He eventually re-entered the game with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and finished the game. Reid did not provide an update on Sneed, which is a good sign as far as his future availability is concerned.
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#Chiefs LG Joe Thuney tried to tough out his ankle injury, but he has since been replaced by Nick Allegretti.
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Update: Thuney has been ruled out.
The second half of the Week 17 game against the Denver Broncos didn’t get started the way the Kansas City Chiefs had hoped.
After an incomplete pass to a wide-open Skyy Moore on second down, Chiefs LG Joe Thuney suffered an apparent injury on the ensuing play. The Broncos pushed the pocked and several bodies piled up as they tried to get to Patrick Mahomes. When players began to get up, Thuney remained down on the field.
Thuney was helped off the field by Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. The training staff worked on his ankle on the sideline — perhaps the same ankle that he injured against the Buffalo Bills back in Week 6. That injury has nagged him all season and he eventually missed some time with it in Week 12 and Week 13. They eventually retapped his ankle and he was out on the field for the ensuing offensive series.
They’d eventually replace Thuney with Nick Allegretti and rule Thuney questionable to return to the game.
G Joe Thuney is questionable to return with an ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/EzsQvrJNsC
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 1, 2023
The fact that Thuney was able to return to the game is a positive sign as far as his outlook for the postseason is concerned. I think it’s a safe bet that at a minimum, Thuney will be held out of the Week 18 finale against the Las Vegas Raiders next week.
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#Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided injury updates on WR Kadarius Toney and LG Joe Thuney after Friday’s practice.
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid gave his typical post-practice injury update on Friday.
For the third consecutive day this week, everyone on the 53-man roster practiced in some capacity. That’s a good sign heading into an AFC West matchup on the road in Week 14.
“Everybody practiced today,” Reid said. “I think we’re going to be OK there. I’m meeting with Rick (Burkholder) after this and we’ll get you the rest of who is out and who is in.”
One of the players returning to practice this week was WR Kadarius Toney. He’d sat out for several weeks with a hamstring injury, but he was able to work in a limited capacity at practice for the entire week. Reid was pleased with the work that Toney got in this week, but it might not be enough for him to return to the field against the Denver Broncos.
“Yeah, so he got out and he worked,” Reid said of Toney. “He did some good things, moved around pretty good. We didn’t give him a full load, but he went out and moved around. We’ll see. He would be one who is right on the border of playing (or) not playing.”
We’ll find out soon whether Toney is ruled out for Week 14 or whether he’s deemed questionable and a game-time decision.
As for starting left guard Joe Thuney, who missed the past two games with an ankle injury, it sounds like he’s trending toward making a return in Week 14.
“Actually, (Joe) Thuney has felt better the last couple of days for sure,” Reid said.
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Every player for the #Chiefs will practice in some capacity on Wednesday, including Joe Thuney and Kadarius Toney according to Andy Reid.
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his typical injury update to kick off the practice week on Wednesday.
For the first time in several weeks, it appears the Chiefs won’t have any non-participants in practice. According to Coach Reid, every player will practice in some capacity as they begin preparing for the Denver Broncos in Week 14.
“I really don’t (have any injuries for you), everyone is going to practice today in some form or another,” Reid said. “We’ll just see how that goes.”
That means that two players who didn’t play in Week 14, Kadarius Toney and Joe Thuney, will be practicing to start the week. Toney’s return to practice is particularly notable. The midseason trade acquisition hasn’t practiced with the team since ahead of the Week 11 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. He’s been dealing with a hamstring injury and the team has been very cautious about it.
Expect Toney to get a limited practice session in to start the week, with the team ramping up his workload as things go. Asked about whether he had a chance to play in Week 14, Reid wasn’t ready to commit to that.
“We’ll see,” Reid said. “I’m going to let him get out there and work a little bit. We’ll see how he does with that. We’re not going to bring him back and have him hurt it again.”
As for Thuney, Reid confirmed there was no setback for the starting left guard last week. It was simply a matter of giving him more time to recover fully.
“No, his thing was just getting that final push that lets you get off of it,” Reid said. “It’s day-to-day. He feels better this week than he did last week. I just thought that he’s made as much progress as he had, let’s just get him a little bit more time. So, that’s where I was at the end of last week.”
Finally, Patrick Mahomes provided an update on his foot injury suffered at the end of the game against the Bengals in Week 13.
“It has felt good,” Mahomes said. “You always deal with bruises and little things throughout the NFL season. Luckily for me, it’s a bruise and something I can bounce back from. I can be back out there in practice and get better, which is what we’re trying to do.”
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#Chiefs LG Joe Thuney has been downgraded to questionable ahead of the Week 13 tilt with the #Bengals due to his ankle injury.
The Kansas City Chiefs could possibly be without their starting left guard for a second consecutive week.
Chiefs LG Joe Thuney missed the team’s Week 12 game against the Rams with an ankle injury. He returned to practice this week in full capacity from Wednesday through Friday, with no game status designation on the final injury report. Andy Reid even expressed confidence that he could return for Week 13.
On Saturday, the team announced that they’d officially downgraded Thuney to questionable game status.
Joe Thuney has been downgraded to questionable for Sunday's game. https://t.co/30rwrUekHA
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 3, 2022
Thuney has been dealing with this ankle injury since the Week 6 loss to the Bills, but he didn’t miss any time with the injury until recently. It has seemingly flared up to the point that the team is being cautious with a player who has typically been an Iron-Man throughout his career. In Week 12 against the Rams, Thuney was replaced by Nick Allegretti, who allowed just three pressures in 46 pass-blocking snaps according to PFF. He’s proven to be a serviceable backup for Kansas City and should be up to the task this week if Thuney is unable to go on Sunday.
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