Chris Jones, Charvarius Ward back at Chiefs practice on Wednesday

When Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spoke to reporters on Wednesday, he began with his usual routine: naming the Kansas City players who would not be participating in that afternoon’s practice at the Truman Sports Complex.

For the first time in two weeks, Reid’s list did not include starting defensive end Chris Jones, who has missed two games — and seen limited use in another — since first being reported with a wrist injury in Week 3. Also missing from his list was another defensive starter: cornerback Charvarius Ward, who has now missed four games with a quad injury.

The Chiefs — still struggling to make their defense competitive — would very much like to get both of these players back on the field before they play the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. But at least for the moment, Reid isn’t expecting much from either player.

“Well, just kind of get back in the swing,” he said of their participation in Wednesday’s practice. “Knock the rust off, get back in the swing of things. They’ve been working hard — just haven’t been practicing. Conditioning won’t necessarily be the issue — just getting back out there and doing the football stuff.”

Nonetheless, “doing the football stuff” is where their return to the playing field will begin.

We’ll get more information about each player’s participation in the practice when the Chiefs release their first injury report of the week on Wednesday afternoon.