Matt Cassel Has 'Illness'; Chiefs' Todd Haley Not Saying Much

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel missed practice on Wednesday with what will be called an "illness" on the official injury report submitted to the league. Chiefs head coach Todd Haley addressed the situation at his Wednesday press conference (audio via 810 WHB).

"We'll put the injury report out and he'll show up as illness and that's as far as Ill go on that. But like I said this time of year nobody feels 100 percent and that's why we're working as hard as we do. It's so important to continue to have everyone ready at all times and today I thought we had a fairly crisp Wednesday practice. We were in pads for a good portion of it and then out of pads in the back end of it."

OK, so will he be back on Thursday?

"He'll be on the injury report as illness today and then we'll just take it from there as we do all injuries."

OK, so does he have to practice to play?

"I appreciate and understand the position [of the Matt Cassel questions] but I'm not going to get into it. Philosophically, we need our guys to practice, we have to practice to play. That's my policy, our policy. And then how much practice they need to have to play is determined by me ultimately and whether we think our guys are already to go."

But....

"That being said, I feel like we've really become efficient offensively, defensively and special teams and we've resisted the urge to do a whole bunch. We're doing less more and that always helps the guys because they're getting multiple reps in the same place."

The Chiefs also signed a third quarterback -- Tyler Palko -- from the practice squad on the same day Cassel missed practice. The timing of it all is a "coincidence", Haley says.

"No, it's actually a coincidence. It really is. We had to make a move in another area and so somebody...we were able to get somebody up and that determination was made -- it's actually a total coincidence. I said it's illness and that's what it is."