Inactives for Chiefs vs. Lions, Week 1

The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions are set to square off on Thursday night in the NFL Kickoff Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. There were some big questions heading into this game about TE Travis Kelce, who hyperextended his knee late in the practice week. Unfortunately, Kelce was not cleared for the game, […]

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor

Sep 7, 2023 6:55 PM EDT

The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions are set to square off on Thursday night in the NFL Kickoff Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

There were some big questions heading into this game about TE Travis Kelce, who hyperextended his knee late in the practice week. Unfortunately, Kelce was not cleared for the game, so they'll have to take care of business without him. Outside of that, both teams are about as close to full strength as you could possibly ask for heading into a Week 1 game.

Here's a quick breakdown of the inactive players for tonight's game.

Chiefs inactive players:

CB Darius Rush
CB Nic Jones
DE BJ Thompson
OL Wanya Morris
T Lucas Niang
TE Travis Kelce
DT Neil Farrell Jr.

Lions inactive players:

DL Isaiah Buggs
CB Emmanuel Moseley
DL Brodric Martin
DE Romeo Okwara
CB Steven Gilmore

Observations:

It seems like Rick Burkholder did not clear Kelce to play in Week 1, the team will rely on Noah Gray, Blake Bell, and Matt Bushman instead. It's probably safe to err on the side of caution given the fact that it's a long season.

No Neil Farrell Jr. as we expected with Matt Dickerson called up from the practice squad.

I'm a little surprised to see both Lucas Niang and Wanya Morris inactive. That means only Prince Tega Wanogho will be available if there is an injury at offensive tackle for Kansas City. Joe Thuney would likely be available in case of an emergency.

The Chiefs having four true cornerbacks active says they trust L'Jarius Sneed's knee. It also tells me that Chamarri Conner will likely play some nickel corner on Thursday.

Emmanuel Moseley has never played a down for the Lions, so we don't really know if he's a starter, but at the very least he's solid CB depth. He was ruled out toward the end of the practice week.

Isaiah Buggs was pulled from the starting lineup due to performance according to Dan Campbell, but there was also some social media drama that could be a contributing factor.