The Chiefs welcomed back three key players from injuries on Wednesday as wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster joined running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive end Charles Omenihu on the practice field ahead of this weekend’s game against Buffalo.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said there’s a possibility that Smith-Schuster could play in the important game between the undefeated Chiefs and the Bills. Smith-Schuster has been out since Week 7 due to a hamstring injury he sustained early in the game against San Francisco.
“We’ll see as he goes through practice,” Reid said. “If it’s up to him, he’s back.”
Smith-Schuster’s injury, along with earlier injuries to wide receivers Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice, was one of the reasons the Chiefs traded for DeAndre Hopkins from Tennessee.
Though Smith-Schuster and Hopkins have similar skills, they also have some differences, and there’s a chance they could both be on the field together on Sunday.
As for Pacheco and Omenihu, Reid said it was “unlikely” they would play in the upcoming game after just rejoining practice.
Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula in Week 2 against Cincinnati and needed surgery. His recovery was expected to take six to eight weeks, and he is now on track to return. However, the Chiefs have been doing fine without him in the backfield, with Kareem Hunt stepping up since Pacheco’s injury.
Hunt, who was signed after Pacheco went down, has been performing well, touching the ball at least 21 times in each of the past five games. He has run for 449 yards and five touchdowns and caught 14 passes for 116 yards in his first six games.
The Chiefs hope that adding Pacheco back to the backfield soon will help ease Hunt’s workload, keeping both running backs in better shape as the season progresses. This could resemble the successful running back duo that Hunt was a part of in Cleveland alongside Nick Chubb.
“I’m happy for him, and I know he’s excited to get back out there,” Hunt said. “I think it’s going to be a heck of a backfield. I think it could be very similar (to Cleveland). I’m excited. I’m used to working with other great backs and stuff like that.”
Omenihu, who tore his ACL in the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game victory in Baltimore, has been on the physically unable to perform list.
The Chiefs have managed his absence by relying heavily on defensive players like George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, and Felix Anudike-Uzomah, and recently added Josh Uche to their pass-rush group through a trade with New England.
Omenihu was a strong contributor for the Chiefs last season, recording seven sacks and forcing two fumbles in 11 games.
“All these players are different in regards to how they come back from injury,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said on Wednesday. “They all heal differently.
And the exact nature and the rehab and the body and all that — I mean, they’re just so different. Some of these kids, they hit the ground running. Some of these guys, it takes a few games. Some of these guys it takes a few months. Some of these guys, it takes a whole year. There’s a big unknown there.”
