Dr. Beth Sullivan | January 11th, 2020
Wild card weekend definitely lived up to its name. Now we are on to the Divisional Round. This week I will take a look at the injury status of the four teams who were on a bye last week. If you still want to read about the injuries status of the teams who thrilled us you can check it out – NFC AFC
The new additions to the playoff madness this week include The Baltimore Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Green Bay Packers. So without further adieu, let’s take a look at the injury status of these four teams.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens enter the divisional round with ten players on injured reserve and a really good injury report. Their final report had only five total players on it and only two of them are listed as questionable.
Earl Thomas, Jimmy Smith, and Brandon Williams all missed some time in practice this week but the absences were all noninjury related and they were all full participants at the final practice before the game this weekend. So that leaves only two more players to account for.
Mark Ingram Running Back
Ingram was injured on December 22nd when he sustained a calf strain in the fourth quarter of the Ravens game over the Browns. He is expected to play in the divisional game, however, since he has only practiced once on a limited basis since the injury occurred how effective he will be remains to be seen. While it is being reported that he is expected to play the final decision will be made about 90 minutes before game time.
Mark Andrews Tight End
Andrews has been a staple on the injury report with both knee and ankle issues since week 14. He was able to practice on a limited basis all week and was listed as questionable on the final pregame report. While all points to him being the number one tight end option, a final decision will be made immediately before game time just like Ingram above.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City enter the weekend with 12 players on injured reserve and only six players on the weekending injury report. Guard Andrew Wylie, Center Austin Reiter, and Defensive End Tanoh Kpassagnon were all full participants in practice and are all expected to be good to go come game time.
Morris Claiborne Cornerback
Claiborne missed practice this week due to illness, but regardless of the reason, he is still unable to suit up for the Chiefs and he has been ruled out of their game against the Texans. He has missed the last five games due to a shoulder injury. The 2019-2020 campaign has been less than memorable since he also missed four games due to suspension. Here’s hoping next season will be better.
Travis Kelce Tight End
Kelce popped up on the injury report with a knee issue that is being described as a deep bruise. He was able to practice on a limited basis all week and is expected to play when the Chiefs face the Texans. As is the case with any bruise, pain and swelling will need to be controlled adequately for him to play a major role on the field. I suspect the training staff is all over this and see no indication that he won’t play a major role in the offense.
Chris Jones Defensive Tackle
Jones was listed as questionable for this weekend’s game after experiencing a calf issue during practice on Thursday. He was held out of practice Friday and will be a gametime decision. Information was sparse on his injury and his availability so I will be sparse as well. His status will be determined about 90 minutes before the game.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers ended the season with a whopping 16 players on injured reserve. Some teams would have thrown in the towel, but not the 49ers. With all the players on IR, their game week injury report is really short. Only four players.
Dee Ford Defensive Lineman
Ford is dealing with a hamstring strain and was a limited participant in practice this week but by all reports, he is expected to play. How much he plays will be a gametime decision and I expect he will play in a rotational basis in hopes that he won’t further injure the hamstring.
Michael Person Offensive Lineman
Person missed weeks 16 and 17 with a neck stinger but is expected to play this week in the divisional round. He started out the week as a limited participant but finished strong by practicing fully since Thursday and should be good to go for the divisional round playoff game.
Kentavius Street Defensive Lineman
Kwon Alexander was activated off Injured Reserve so he can play in this week’s divisional-round game. In order to make room for him on the roster, Street’s season came to an end when he was placed on IR for the second time this season on Friday.
Elijah Lee Linebacker
Lee didn’t practice early in the week due to illness, but was removed from the injury report and is expected to be ready to play in the game this week. Assuming he has gotten over his illness he should be good to go come game time.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers are an interesting team at least from an injury standpoint. The other playoff teams seem to have a bunch of players on injured reserve and a short game week injury report, the Packers seem to want to win the playoff injury list battle. They have eight players on injured reserve and a whopping 16 on the initial game week report. They removed 12 of them on Friday which resulted in a more manageable kist.
Dexter Williams Running Back and Tyler Lancaster Linebacker
Both Williams and Lancaster missed multiple days of practice this past week due to illness and both are listed as questionable on the final injury report. With the return of Jamaal Williams this week Dexter is expected to be a “healthy” scratch. Giving him additional time to recover.
Danny Vitale Full Back.
Vitale sustained a knee injury in the Week 17 game and was a limited practice participant before illness took him out at the end of the week. He is listed as questionable and as I have said so many times in this report, he will be a game time decision.
Kenny Clark Defensive Lineman
Clark was listed as questionable on the final injury report as he is still dealing with back strain. As is usually the case, backs can be tricky and he will be a game time decision.
Questions and comments?
thescorecrowsports@gmail.com
Follow Us on Twitter @thescorecrow
Follow Us on Reddit at u/TheScorecrow
Follow Us on Facebook at The Scorecrow
Follow Us on Instagram at The Scorecrow
Facebook Group where you can read and post articles at The Scorecrow
Reddit Group where everyone can post without fear of being banned at The Scorecrow
Follow Beth Sullivan on Twitter @GAPeachPolymer
Main Image Credit: [getty src=”1190112837″ width=”594″ height=”396″ tld=”com”]
