Williams out of practice Wednesday; Hill and Okafor are full participants

Speaking to the press on Wednesday, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that running back Damien Williams will be the only player held out of Wednesday’s practice.

Williams suffered what was termed a “chest injury” in the team’s 24-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers a week ago Monday. Since there was little media availability during the just-concluded bye week, we really knew little else about Williams’ injury.

This would suggest there is a good possibility that Williams will not be available to play against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. As our in-house sports medicine expert Aaron Borgmann noted after Reid’s remarks, rib injuries are painful and take time to heal.

But as Aaron noted, since only Williams is being held out of Wednesday’s practice, that means defensive end Alex Okafor, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and cornerback Kendall Fuller are all available for practice.

Reid’s statement about Hill and Okafor can be taken to mean that while Fuller will be practicing, he will likely be only a limited participant. But it is very good news that both Hill and Okafor will be full participants in the first practice ahead of a critical late-season game.

Fuller has missed five games after undergoing surgery for a thumb injury. Okafor has missed three games with a high ankle sprain. Hill had a hamstring injury early in the contest against the Chargers. While he did not return to the game, he remained on the sideline — and later reports indicated had not suffered a serious injury.