The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the practice week for their Week 1 tilt against the Denver Broncos on “Monday Night Football.”

Ahead of practice on Thursday, Sept. 10, Chiefs HC Andy Reid addressed the media. He provided the latest batch of injury updates, confirming that starting LT Josh Simmons and S Chamarri Conner were the only players not set to participate in practice.

This follows Coach Reid’s injury update on Tuesday, which put both Simmons and Conner at risk of missing the Week 1 game. Conner banged his knee on a play in mid-August at training camp and hasn’t practiced since. Simmons hasn’t practiced since Day 15 of training camp on August 17 due to a back injury.

Still no word on DE Ashton Gillotte from Coach Reid

Second-year DE Ashton Gillotte suffered a ruptured plantar fascia while tackling TE Jared Wiley on Day 16 of training camp. Coach Reid not mentioning Gillotte is actually rather newsworthy. It suggests he will practice in some capacity on Thursday.

While the injury sounds substantial, it’s actually not uncommon for players to return to play after 3-4 weeks with this injury. A partial tear is actually considered worse than a rupture. We’ll find out more about his status when the first injury report is released later today.

Andy Reid on expectations for Chiefs WR Rashee Rice

Reid confirmed on Tuesday that Rice is cleared to do everything in his return from his offseason knee surgery. The expectations for No. 4 are clear and simple.

“Get out there and go play,” Reid said.

As for how Rice feels about his knee? He feels like he’s back to 100%, says he has his burst back and trust in his knee. Ultimately, he won’t know for certain until he gets on the field.

“I push myself every day to get to 100%,” Rice told reporters on Thursday. “Spend a lot of extra time in the training room. Pretty sure I’m 100%, but I’m just ready to get to the game.”

Chiefs S Alohi Gilman feels good after the back injury

Gilman missed some time after his back locked up on him in pregame warm-ups in preseason Week 2. He spoke to media members Thursday, saying he feels good with Monday night coming up.

“It has been great,” Gilman told reporters. “Rehab staff got down. Did some work… Feeling good.”

Despite missing reps, Gilman also says he feels comfortable in the defensive scheme and system. The free agent is in his first year in Spags’ defense.

“I feel really good,” Gilman said. “Really comfortable. They do a great job of preparing us… I feel really comfortable where I am at. Excited for the season.”