Kansas City Chiefs star increasingly likely to miss Super Bowl 2024, offensive weapon may return

The Kansas City Chiefs are in the final days of preparing for a rematch against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. While Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will be playing at Allegiant Stadium, the Chiefs could be missing a critical player.

Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals commit more than $200M in economic benefits to Jackson County as part of path forward

Kansas City has dealt with a myriad of injuries this season, including in the NFL playoffs. The Chiefs played without linebacker Willie Gay Jr., offensive lineman Joe Thuney, running back Jerick McKinnon, wide receiver K’Darius Toney and nose tackle Derrick Nnandi in the AFC Championship Game.

Kansas City fears that Thuney suffered a torn pec, which he would have no chance to play through. While he continues to go through testing leading up to the Super Bowl, there’s very little optimism that he’ll be able to play against the 49ers.

Without Thuney in the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs were forced to start interior offensive lineman Nick Allegretti. In 80 snaps, he received a 52.7 grade from Pro Football Focus. While he graded poorly as a run blocker, he only surrendered 4 pressures in 52 pass-blocking snaps.

Chiefs injury report: Wide-receiver health remains an issue

Fortunately, there is positive news on the Chiefs injury report heading into the Super Bowl. Kansas City’s first three practices this past week saw the return of wide receiver Skyy Moore, albeit in a limited capacity. There’s also some hope that Toney could play against the 49ers

Perhaps just as importantly for the Chiefs’ passing offense, running back Jerick McKinnon could return. The veteran pass-catcher was designated to return from injured reserve on Saturday, opening the practice window for him next week.