Team news: Kansas City Chiefs | Page 10

Chiefs say that OT Ethan Driskell (illness) will return to practice Friday, as will CB Nazeeh Johnson (concussion). Kansas City says it will see where Johnson is at with an update post-practice.

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (hamstring) will once again be sidelined — he's likely to be down this week.

Related Players: DeAndre Hopkins, Xavier Worthy, Mecole Hardman, Justin Watson

Looks like it'll be another lost week for JuJu, which puts both Worthy and Hopkins on the WR3 radar against the Tampa Bay secondary.

Derek Carr was on a "little bit" of a pitch count for Wednesday's practice, but is still expected to start Sunday, Dennis Allen said.

Related Players: Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener

Good news for the Saints as they try to claw their way back into playoff talks. This would be great for Chris Olave, who has a very cushy matchup against the Panthers secondary this week.

Head coach Dennis Allen said in his Monday press conference that he’s optimistic about Derek Carr’s potential return this weekend.

“Derek Carr had a throwing session again today, looked good in the throwing session,” Allen said. “I would expect him to be back out at practice again on Wednesday. And then we’ll go from there and see what his availability is this week. But I’m optimistic about it.”

Related players: Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener

Carr has been out since suffering an oblique injury against the Chiefs in Week 5. Rattler started the last three games for New Orleans, though he was benched in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Chargers for Haener. The Saints looked dominant over their first two games but have since dropped six-straight. In five games this year, Carr has completed 70.3 percent of his throws for 989 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions, the story said.

Andy Reid says WR JuJu Smith Schuster (hamstring) and DE Mike Danna (pectoral) won’t play Sunday vs Raiders. Deandre Hopkins likely will play.

Related Players: Xavier Worthy, Mecole Hardman, Justin Watson

We would put the odds quite high that Hopkins suits up, but it's fair to question how much he'll be involved right out of the gate. He's an interesting desperation play in Week 8, but with no byes, your team would really be banking on a high-risk, moderate-reward outcome. Worthy projects as a fringe WR2/3.

Sources: Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins is being traded to the Chiefs in exchange for a 5th rounder that can get to a fourth rounder. Deal is being finalized.

A key veteran who could be the final piece, Hopkins name has been hot in the trade market. Now, he lands with the champs.

Related Players: Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, Juju Smith-Schuster, Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd

Even with the un-serious looking Chiefs wide receiver room over the last few weeks, they have remained undefeated. Though Patrick Mahomes has been trending toward the worst statistical performance of his career, it's hard to see why the fans/team would care if they just glide to the Super Bowl again.

This is an obvious boost for Mahomes' fantasy aspirations and puts Hopkins back on the WR2 radar in good matchups. This is also a boost to Calvin Ridley, but his ceiling is still extremely capped with poor quarterback play in a terrible offensive environment.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Raiders will sign Desmond Ridder off of Arizona’s practice squad. Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew are the only other quarterbacks on the active roster and they have rookie Carter Bradley on the practice squad.

The Raiders didn’t confirm that quarterback O’Connell will be placed on injured reserve with a fractured thumb on Monday, but they are making a roster move that makes it clear they are short of healthy quarterbacks this week, the story pointed out. Ridder is probably best left on wires in typical leagues, but of course in deeper two QB or superflex leagues, any quarterback is worth stashing away on your roster.

JuJu Smith-Schuster is the latest Chiefs wide receiver to suffer an injury.

Smith-Schuster was ruled out of Sunday’s win over the 49ers after he hurt his hamstring and head coach Andy Reid told reporters at a Monday press conference that he will not play against the Raiders in Week Eight.

Related players: Xavier Worthy, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore, Travis Kelce

The Chiefs will go with Worthy, Hardman and Moore as their top WRs heading into Week 8, which is a game at the Raiders. The Chiefs are winning games without a dangerous passing attack from Patrick Homes, instead controlling the ball with the run game and relying on their defense. That formula should work against a struggling Raiders team as well.

Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell now is expected to miss four to six weeks with a broken thumb, per sources. He is getting a second opinion today to confirm the initial diagnosis.

Related players: Gardner Minshew

Pro Football Talk is reporting O'Connell will be placed on IR. Minshew takes back over as the starting QB after O'Connell recently replaced him, but Minshew hasn't been great this season and threw three interceptions after taking over against the Rams. The Raiders will have to make a move for another QB to be added to the roster.

Trade! The Texans are sending RB Cam Akers to the Vikings, sources say.

Related players: Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler, Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale

Houston gets a 2026 conditional sixth-round pick in exchange for Akers and a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick. Of course, it’s a reunion for Akers and Minnesota, which also traded for him last season, the story pointed out. The worry now is maybe Jones, who was injured (hip) before the Vikings bye week, isn't fully healthy just yet, despite being able to practice so far this week. However, the Vikings, who sit at 5-0 so far this season, may just want more RB depth behind Jones and Chandler. As for the Texans, Mixon and Pierce look to be healthy again, and with the emergence of Ogunbowale over the last couple of weeks, Akers became expendable.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is back for Kansas City.

Per the NFL’s daily transaction wire, the Chiefs have activated Edwards-Helaire off of the non-football injury list to the 53-man roster.

Related players: Kareem Hunt, Samaje Perine, Carson Steele, Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Edwards-Helaire returned to practice earlier this month and had been dealing with physical effects stemming from post-traumatic stress disorder, including nausea and vomiting, the story said. With Hunt seemingly taking over the RB1 role, there could be a path for CEH to get back to an RB2 role, jumping ahead of Perine and Steele. The Chiefs seem to trust CEH, and HC Andy Reid was quoted in the story saying, "We're awful glad to have him here."