Chiefs prepare for Vikings with hope that Mahomes will start

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs remain hopeful that injured quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be available when they play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Mahomes, who dislocated his right kneecap two weeks ago in Denver, practiced on a limited basis last week before he was declared out Friday.

Matt Moore started in his place and played well against the Green Bay Packers, keeping the Chiefs in the game before losing 31-24.

“We’ll see how it goes. I’m taking it day by day here,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I’m going to watch them do their thing and see how they do.”

Among the many things Reid wants to see in practice is the way Mahomes moves on his knee.

“We do enough stuff where he has to move around and you get a chance to see,” Reid said. “He’s been moving pretty good. You saw that before our game, he was out running around. And, obviously, I will be talking and communicating with the doctors.”

The Chiefs have been desperate to get a number of injured players back on the field. Six starters were declared out for the Packers game, and while a couple of them could return against Minnesota, a few more have been added to the injury list.

Bashaud Breeland, who left against Green Bay before finishing the game, missed practice Wednesday with a sprained shoulder. He was joined on the sideline by $105 million defensive end Frank Clark, who was out for a second consecutive week with a neck injury, and defensive tackle Alex Okafor, who could be sidelined for a while with a high ankle sprain.

Missing from the list of defensive injuries? Defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback Kendall Fuller, both of whom missed last week’s game against the Packers. Jones has been out three weeks with a groin strain while Fuller, who was sporting sutures but no soft cast in the locker room Wednesday, has been recovering from surgery on his thumb.

Their returns would help a defense that has played better the past two weeks, holding the Denver Broncos down in a 30-6 rout and keeping Aaron Rodgers and Co. in check last week.

On the other side of the ball, left guard Andrew Wylie was back at practice after missing time with a sprained ankle. But taking his place on the sideline was right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff, who hobbled off against the Packers with a sprained ankle.

Left tackle Eric Fisher also remained out after having core muscle surgery. He tried to practice last week but was eventually declared out, and he was held out of practice Wednesday.

“We were trying,” Reid said. “See how it felt, and it wasn’t quite ready so we set him back down. Just let the thing get healed up.”

Also on the injury report was veteran punter Dustin Colquitt, who hasn’t missed a game since 2008 but is dealing with a quad strain that could jeopardize his showdown with his brother.

Britton Colquitt was signed by the Vikings this season.

Getting any of those guys back would be helpful for the Chiefs, who have lost three of their past four games — all of them at Arrowhead Stadium. The recent swoon has put them in a precarious position not only in the AFC West but in the race for a first-round bye in the playoffs.

“We can’t control the injuries and what’s happened to guys. This is 100 percent an injury sport,” said Chiefs wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who finally returned from a hamstring injury last week.

Watkins said he isn’t concerned with whether Mahomes or Moore is under center, either.

“Not so much who is but how we play,” He said. “That’s the integrity we have. That’s the fight.”