Sunday injury report: Damien Williams remains Chiefs’ starting RB despite missed week

Kansas City Chiefs running back Damien Williams and safety Jordan Lucas missed their sixth consecutive practice Sunday due to hamstring injuries. Carlos Hyde and Darrel Williams primarily worked with the first team in Williams’ absence, with rookie Darwin Thompson occasionally mixing in.

Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy confirmed that Williams remains the Chiefs’ first option at running back despite his week-long injury.

“Obviously, he’s the starter,” Bieniemy said after Sunday’s workout. “We need to make sure that Damien continues to do the things that he needs to do in order to help himself to be ready when called upon—things in the training room with (head athletic trainer and vice president) Rick (Burkholder), and that’s going to take care of itself. But right now, we’re not worried about that. We’re only worried about the guys that are putting in the work on the field.”

Bieniemy added that Williams has been doing everything right off the field even though he has not been able to practice.

“Damien’s doing a heck of a job in the classroom,” Bieniemy said, “taking a lot of mental notes, he’s very active, we talk all the time, we’re intermingling, he asks the right questions. He’s been in this system for a year now, so he understands what we’re doing. Obviously, you would love him out here, but that’s going to take care of itself in that training room with Rick and his staff because they’re going to do a great job with him.”

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill also missed Sunday practice as the Chiefs “gave him another day to let that quad settle,” per the team’s public relations staff. Hill suffered the injury Tuesday and missed practice Wednesday. Our in-house injury expert, Aaron Borgmann, believes Hill might have gotten sore over the last couple of days as he returned to full-team action on Friday and Saturday.

Defensive linemen Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah left practice early with a sore hip and oblique issue, respectively.

Borgmann notes that an oblique issue can be tough on a player, as that type of injury tends to linger and take some time to heal from if it is considered severe. The former second-round pick, defensive lineman Tanoh Kpassagnon, took reps with the first team in place of Okafor and Ogbah.

Cornerback Rashad Fenton has been “excused” (not injured) the past two days, per the Chiefs’ PR staff. The Chiefs resume training camp at 9:15 a.m. Arrowhead Time on Monday.