Chiefs-Dolphins Inactives: Willie Gay will play against Dolphins

The Kansas City Chiefs have released their list of inactive players for Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt, Germany. As expected, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness) will not play. Neither will wide receiver Richie James (knee). But linebacker Willie Gay Jr. (lower back) will be active for the matchup.

Gay was listed as questionable for Sunday’s matchup after being held out of Monday’s practice — and upgraded to a limited practice participant on both Thursday and Friday.

James is not on Sunday’s inactive list because he is not on the roster; while he remains on the team’s Reserve/Injured (injured reserve) list, he was designated for return on Wednesday and was listed as a full participant in all three of this week’s practices before being listed as questionable for the game. This led to speculation that he would be activated to the roster before the game — but the Chiefs did not make that move on either Friday or Saturday.

In an unusual move, the Chiefs listed Edwards-Helaire as out for the game after he missed Thursday’s practice with an illness. Since the Chiefs were leaving for Frankfurt on Thursday evening, it appeared that the team simply wanted to make sure that Edwards-Helaire would not expose anyone else during the long period the team would be in the airliner’s enclosed space.

On Saturday, Kansas City elevated practice squad running back La’Mical Perine to the active roster. As an elevated player, he will automatically be returned to the team’s practice squad after the game. He is active for the contest.

The Dolphins have also released their list of inactives. As we thought, guard Robert Hunt (hamstring) and safety Brandon Jones (concussion) will miss the game.

But left tackle Terron Armstead (knee), offensive lineman Connor Williams (groin), cornerback Xavien Howard (groin), tight end Durham Smythe (ankle), wide receiver Braxton Berrios (hamstring), wide receiver River Cracraft (shoulder), cornerback Justin Bethel (foot), and defensive back Nik Needham (achilles) will play against the Chiefs.

Both Hunt and Jones had been declared out in Friday’s final injury report. Eight other Miami players were limited in Friday’s final practice and were listed as questionable.

One of them was Armstead, who had been practicing with the team after being designated for return from the Reserve/Injured list. On Saturday, the Dolphins activated him to the roster, making him eligible to play on Sunday. The team created roster space by waiving defensive tackle Brandon Pili.

The rest of Friday’s questionable players — Williams, Howard, Smythe, Berrios, Cracraft, Bethel and Needham — are active for the game.