KANSAS CITY, Mo. – All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce was active for the Kansas City Chiefs against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night after hurting his ankle before finishing out last weekend's win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Kelce was limited in practice Tuesday and there was some question whether the quick turnaround from last Sunday would be enough time for his ankle to heal sufficiently. He was listed as questionable on the final injury report but on the field for pregame warmups, giving quarterback Patrick Mahomes his most reliable and productive option in the passing game.
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“He’s always been honest with me on things like that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week, "so we’ll just see how he does. But he’s doing OK out there (in practice) so we’ll see how it goes.”
The Broncos also had their top tight end after activating Greg Dulcich from injured reserve. A third-round pick out of UCLA a year ago, Dulcich had not played since Week 1, when he had two catches for 22 yards against the Las Vegas Raiders before he hurt his hamstring and landed on the IR list.
“He’s been working his tail off, and I know they’re going through a bunch of stuff now — explosive drills — and making sure there’s not a setback,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said this week. “He’s close.”
The Broncos cleared a roster spot for Dulcich, who has 35 catches for 433 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games, by releasing wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey on Wednesday. They signed him back to the practice squad Thursday and promoted him along with defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster to the active roster for the AFC West matchup in Kansas City.
Humphrey has played 97 snaps this season with four catches for 26 yards. Lancaster has been on the practice squad.
Chiefs defensive tackles Neil Farrell and Keondre Coburn, offensive lineman Mike Caliendo, defensive end BJ Thompson and cornerback Nic Jones were inactive against Denver. The Broncos made linebackers Frank Clark and Thomas Incoom, defensive linemen D.J. Jones and Elijah Garcia, tight end Nate Adkins and safety JL Skinner inactive to face the Chiefs.
Clark helped the Chiefs win the Super Bowl last season before signing with Denver as a free agent. But the 30-year-old pass rusher, who agreed to a restructured deal this week, appears to have fallen out of favor with the Broncos. He has appeared in only two games because of injury and was declared out for Thursday night because of an illness.
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