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Chiefs in perfect health as Texans get some bad news in final injury report update ahead of AFC divisional round

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Charles Goldman | Last updated Jan 16, 2025 5:08 PM ET

It won't be long now for the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, as they've both completed their final practice sessions ahead of the AFC divisional round.

Thursday's practice brought some bad news for the Texans, who saw RB Joe Mixon sit out of the final practice of the week due to injury. Mixon first appeared on the injury report with an ankle injury on Wednesday after practicing in full on Tuesday to start the week. Texans media members strongly believe Mixon will still play on Saturday, but this at least raises some questions about his potential availability. Even if he does play in the game, there's certainly reason to believe he won't be 100% healthy.

Kansas City's injury report remained the same, with no new injuries reported on Thursday. Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirmed to reporters that they're leaning toward activating CB Jaylen Watson (ankle) and not yet WR Mecole Hardman (knee). Both players are currently on injured reserve, and the team has one free space available on the 53-man roster.

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid on Jaylen Watson: "He's worked tremendously hard to get himself to this point. We'll just see how that goes as far as the game reps, but he sure has worked hard to get himself even to this point right here."
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) January 16, 2025

Let's examine the Chiefs' and Texans' final injury reports of the week, complete with game status designations for the divisional round of the playoffs. . .

Final Chiefs injury report

Player	Injury	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
WR Mecole Hardman (IR)	Knee	LP	LP	Coming soon. . .
CB Jaylen Watson (IR)	Ankle	FP	FP
DT Chris Jones	Knee	FP	FP
RT Jawaan Taylor	Knee	FP	FP
RB Isiah Pacheco	Ribs	FP	FP
QB Patrick Mahomes	Ankle	FP	FP
CB Trent McDuffie	Knee	FP	FP
LT D.J. Humphries	Hamstring	FP	FP
DB Chamarri Conner	Shoulder	FP	FP
WR Nikko Remigio	Wrist	FP	FP
FB Carson Steele	Hip	FP	FP

KEY: DNP = Did not participate | LP = Limited participation | FP = Full participation | NIR = Not injury related

Observations:

Mecole Hardman is the lone Chiefs player expected to carry a game status designation for the AFC divisional round.

Final Texans injury report

Player	Injury	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Game Status
LB Azeez Al-Shaair	Knee	DNP	LP
OL Shaq Mason	Knee	DNP	LP
OL Juice Scruggs	Ankle	DNP	LP
WR Robert Woods	Hip	DNP	DNP
DL Denico Autry	Knee	LP	LP
TE Dalton Schultz	Shoulder	LP	LP
WR Nico Collins	Rest	LP	--	--	--
DL Will Anderson Jr.	Hand/Elbow	FP	FP
OL Nick Broeker	Hand	FP	FP
TE Teagan Quitoriano	Calf	FP	FP
RB Joe Mixon	Ankle	--	LP	DNP