Kansas City Chiefs fans will have to wait at least another week for the return of their rookie first-round draft pick Trent McDuffie.
McDuffie suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1 and was subsequently placed on injured reserve. He was designated to return from injured reserve this past week, opening his 21-day practice window. The team must activate McDuffie by Thursday, Nov. 2, or leave him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
Despite having a good week of practice for McDuffie per Chiefs HC Andy Reid, the team has opted to give him another week to recover from his injury. They did not activate McDuffie from injured reserve on Saturday per the NFL’s personnel notice, which means he is not eligible to play in Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills. It sounds like he wasn’t quite able to go at full speed in practice quite yet.
Obviously, it would have been ideal to get McDuffie back in the lineup against the Bills given the opponent and what’s on the line. With Rashad Fenton out, the team will rely on Joshua Williams as one of their perimeter corners in their nickel package with three cornerbacks on the field. Williams had a key play in coverage against Davante Adams at the end of the Week 5 game against the Raiders.
McDuffie could return to the lineup as early as next week or the Chiefs could take their time and bring him back after Week 8 bye.
