Andy Reid Updates JuJu Smith-Schuster Return, Wanya Morris Knee Injury

Ahead of Week 11's game against the Bills, Andy Reid weighed in on JuJu Smith-Schuster's return timeline and the nature of the knee injury to Wanya Morris.

Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (9) runs with the ball during the first half against the New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Despite a 9-0 start to the year, one of the major themes of the Kansas City Chiefs' season thus far has been injuries. The reigning Super Bowl champions are dealing with a multitude of them, with both sides of the ball being impacted.

This week, there's mostly good news for Kansas City on that front. First and foremost, running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive end Charles Omenihu's 21-day practice windows have officially opened. While head coach Andy Reid isn't too optimistic about their chances to play on Sunday, the opposite is the case regarding wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Smith-Schuster, who is making his return to practice this week, could return to the lineup for Week 11's tilt against the Buffalo Bills according to Reid.

"There's a good chance he's back," Reid said. "We'll see as we go through practice but if it's up to him, he's back."

It's been a long few weeks for Smith-Schuster, who aggravated his hamstring injury early in Week 7's win over the San Francisco 49ers and hasn't practiced ever since. Kansas City played the long game with him but avoided placing him on injured reserve, which was a good sign for their initial projected recovery timeline. Should he play on Sunday, it'd mark three games missed instead of the mandatory four in the event of an IR placement. On that front, things seem to be going as planned.

In the case of left tackle Wanya Morris, things are trickier. The second-year man exited Week 10's win over the Denver Broncos with a knee injury, only to come back in during the fourth quarter and help ice the game. On Wednesday, Reid tipped his cap to the former third-round pick for being tough and finishing a close contest. He also revealed that the Morris injury was a "tweak" of a bone bruise that he's nursed for months.

"Before Wanya got hurt, he was doing a nice job out there," Reid said. "But that thing, he had the bone bruise before, he tweaks it every once in a while. It takes a minute to calm down, then he comes back in. Every week, he's gotten a little bit better, that he's been starting. That's a positive going forward here."

Reid is confident that the injury isn't getting any worse, so Morris figures to resume his spot at left tackle moving forward. That should be the case even if the Chiefs weigh the possibility of bringing in veteran Donovan Smith as an insurance policy.

"He's not doing anything to hurt it worse – that's not what's going on," Reid said. "These things are a little bit like a high-ankle sprain that way where you bring them back, they tweak it, they sit for a little bit, it calms down, come back out and they go. Different injury but, I mean, it's what he had."

Smith-Schuster's stock is heading in the right direction and barring any setbacks, Morris's should be standing pat as Sunday's game approaches.

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