The Kansas City Chiefs have two players returning to practice on Thursday after missing five players to start the week on Wednesday. 

Chiefs PR head Ted Crews updated reporters ahead of practice, explaining that LB Nick Bolton (sprained ankle), WR Richie James (MCL), and WR Kadarius Toney (sprained toe) would all miss their second consecutive practice of the week. Typically, Andy Reid requires players to have at least one limited practice for them to play in a game. That puts the status of this trio very much in question with only one more practice remaining. 

Returning to practice on Thursday in some capacity are RB Isiah Pacheco and LB Willie Gay Jr. 

#Chiefs LB Nick Bolton (ankle), WR Richie James (mcl), and WR Kadarius Toney (toe) will not practice today. Isiah Pacheco (hamstring) and Willie Gay Jr. (quad) are back at practice in some capacity.

— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) September 21, 2023

Perhaps the biggest worry here is Bolton missing two practices. He's the signal-caller on defense, wearing the green dot and relaying calls from the sideline. The Chiefs are aptly prepared should he miss the Week 3 game against the Bears as they've been cross-training LB Drue Tranquill at the MIKE position. 

Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo spoke about this on Thursday:

"We're very fortunate that we got Drue (Tranquill)," Spagnuolo said. "He's played linebacker before. He's been in the system now a little bit. He got a couple of games under his belt. You guys would have noticed in both games that we played, in certain series in the first half they were Drue would go out and be the MIKE. We gave Nick (Bolton) some reps off. We wanted to do that early because it was early in the season, No 1. And the second game was because we were in Florida and we knew that it could get long and we all wanted to be fresh at the end of the game. I think that will help Drue if he has to step in there and takeover for Nick." 

We'll see if Bolton can get back on the field for the final practice of the week on Friday. However, if he's unable to do that and is ruled out for the game, the team is prepared and shouldn't miss a beat.

Check back later for the latest injury report from practice:

Player	Injury	Wednesday	Thursday
LB Nick Bolton	Ankle	DNP	DNP
LB Willie Gay Jr.	Quad	DNP	LP
WR Richie James	Knee	DNP	DNP
RB Isiah Pacheco	Hamstring	DNP	LP
WR Kadarius Toney	Toe	DNP	DNP
CB L’Jarius Sneed	Knee	LP	FP
RT Jawaan Taylor	Shoulder	FP	FP
CB Nic Jones	Hand	FP	FP
WR Justin Watson	Ankle	FP	FP
CB Jaylen Watson	Shoulder	–	FP

KEY: DNP = Did not participate | LP = Limited participation | FP = Full participation | NIR = Not injury related

Observations:

• Jaylen Watson was a new addition to the injury report with a shoulder injury. He was a full participant in practice. 
  
• L'Jarius Sneed was upgraded to full participation after a limited practice on Wednesday. That's a good sign. 
• Limited practice for both Gay Jr. and Pacheco means they're trending toward playing in Week 3.

For more information on the Bears' injury situation, check here.

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Featured image via Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports