The Kansas City Chiefs are just hours away from taking on the New England Patriots on the road, but there's a fresh development regarding a certain player's potential availability on game day.
On Sunday morning, the team shared via X (formerly Twitter) that cornerback Joshua Williams is a late addition to the injury report with an illness. The second-year man is officially questionable at the time of the team's announcement.
Williams, who was drafted in the fourth round last year, didn't appear on the injury report during the week. Eleven members of the Chiefs were on it entering Sunday's game, although only three of them carried designations. Running back Isiah Pacheco and left tackle Donovan Smith are missing Week 15 with respective shoulder and neck injuries, and wide receiver Justyn Ross is simply not being activated this week following his return from suspension. Kansas City will use a temporary roster exemption on Ross for this week.
Playing all 13 games thus far this season, Williams has recorded 14 tackles (one for loss) and one pass broken up. His workload is lower than it was in his rookie campaign, as the former Fayetteville State product is averaging just a 26% snap count rate on defense compared to a 38% clip in 2022. His special teams plate, though, is more full. Williams has already surpassed his previous total there — 252 snaps as a sophomore versus 215 as a rookie.
Throughout the season, the Chiefs have relied on Williams less and less. He opened the year with a streak of six consecutive games with double-digit defensive snaps played, but he has just three such outings dating back to Week 7. After averaging about 26 snaps per game in Weeks 1-6, Williams' average in Weeks 7-14 is under nine. His special teams workload remains mostly consistent.
If Williams ends up being unable to play against the Patriots, look for the same leading trio of L'Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to steer the ship at cornerback. Elsewhere, some package-specific looks from rookie safety Chamarri Conner slotting inside should be on the table. Seventh-round pick Nic Jones and undrafted rookie free agent Ekow Boye-Doe may also factor into the math on more of a special teams basis.
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