Chiefs at Cardinals Preseason Preview: Injuries, Storylines and More

Everything you need to know as the Chiefs continue their 2023 preseason down in Arizona against the Cardinals.

As the 2023 NFL regular season inches closer and closer, the Kansas City Chiefs still have a couple of preseason games on their schedule. This weekend, the Arizona Cardinals will be awaiting a visit from the reigning Super Bowl champs. 

Scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT, State Farm Stadium is the site of Saturday night's game. Kansas City, a team that went 14-3 a season ago, is looking to settle into a groove this preseason after opening with a loss against the New Orleans Saints. Arizona, coming off a 4-13 campaign, defeated the Denver Broncos by a single point in their preseason opener. Both teams need this game to prepare for regular-season action, and it's expected that starters will play more than they did last week. 

Ahead of Chiefs at Cardinals, Arrowhead Report is providing everything you need to know about the matchup. This includes a Chiefs injury report, as well as things to watch and what else you can read to get ready for the game. The Chiefs' 53-man roster is likely set for the most part, but a standout performance or unfortunate injury can always shake up the math just a bit. While these games aren't super important in the grand scheme of things, they absolutely matter for the time being. 

Chiefs injury update: Familiar faces

Entering last week's game against the Saints, the Chiefs ruled out five players: running back Isiah Pacheco (shoulder), wideout Kadarius Toney (knee), defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (knee), cornerback L'Jarius Sneed (knee) and tight end Jody Fortson (shoulder). The aforementioned five will probably miss Saturday's game as well. Fortson has been moved to the injured reserve list. 

Elsewhere, receivers Justyn Ross and Ihmir Smith-Marsette suffered injuries during the week but returned to practice the following day. Rookie Nikko Remigio, however, did not. Backup interior offensive lineman Nick Allegretti's shoulder injury appears to be minor. There is no new news on seventh-round pick Nic Jones, the cornerback who fractured multiple fingers on his left hand down in New Orleans. 

Per Donnie Druin of All Cardinals, running back Marlon Mack and cornerback Rashad Fenton — who is a former Chief — have been placed on the injured reserve list. Tight end Zach Ertz is off of the physically unable to perform list, although his recovery timeline is more geared towards Week 1 of the regular season. Defensive ends Cam Thomas and BJ Ojulari are in a wait-and-see state in regards to getting on the field, as is quarterback Jeff Driskel. 

Chiefs-Cardinals things to keep an eye on

Last week, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that his starters (including quarterback Patrick Mahomes) would get the entire first quarter to work. After just one disappointing drive, however, Mahomes was pulled from the game. This week, Reid insists that the ones will get the first half but could be pulled early depending on the flow of the game. From an offensive standpoint, I'd expect a quarter-plus but far from the entire half. 

On defense, Steve Spagnuolo's first-team unit has to show a better performance than last week. Linebacker Nick Bolton and safety Justin Reid struggled to contain New Orleans' offensive attack in preseason Week 1, and the defensive line's pass rush effort was poor until the reserves entered the game. Preseason games aren't necessarily indicative of what's to come in the following weeks and months, although it's still critical that Kansas City's best players get off to a better start this time around. 

Additional Chiefs odds and ends for the week

• Third-round rookie Wanya Morris played both right and left tackle in his first NFL game. Zack Eisen of Arrowhead Report dove into Morris's pros and cons and explained why his versatility is so helpful to the Chiefs.
• Defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas City's first pick of the year, is making progress after a slow start to the offseason program. The former Kansas State Wildcat is expected to play a rotational role as a rookie according to defensive line coach Joe Cullen this week. 
• With Fortson going on IR and cornerback Anthony Witherstone being waived, the Chiefs added a pair of players into the fold this week. Learn more about cornerback Duron Lowe and linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi. 
• It's officially preseason hype time, and the Chiefs have players on both sides of the ball getting praise. Wide receiver Skyy Moore is being labeled a breakout candidate, and Sneed was recently ranked as a top five cornerback in all of football.