Chasing their unprecedented 3-peat this season, the Chiefs have faced multiple setbacks on their offense. With injuries striking down one player after the other, their offense looked sort of real firepower before this week. Having already lost Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown to season-ending injuries, they were leaning towards yet another setback before the 49ers clash on Sunday when JuJu Smith-Schuster was declared limited in Thursday’s practise with a hamstring spasm.

All eyes were on the next update that Andy Reid was slated to offer before the team traveled for their clash in Santa Clara. Well, it might be somewhat of a respite for the Chiefs’ Kingdom when Reid said JuJu returned to practice today.

However, as a precautionary measure, Reid decided to keep JuJu’s tag questionable. “Yeah, I think he’ll be fine. We’ll see. I mean, we’re gonna list him as questionable just in case something comes up, but he did good today, so we’ll see how he does tomorrow. But he was good today.” While offering an update on Smith-Schuster’s availability in San Francisco this weekend, Reid ruled out the elevation of practice squad WRs taking on the 49ers. This means Justyn Ross, Nikko Remigio, Montrell Washington, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore will be the only WRs active on the Chiefs roster.

Among those five, Hardman and Moore were the only ones who played eight and six offensive snaps, respectively, against the Saints last time out. Elsewhere, defensive end Mike Danna is expected to remain out of this clash as he continues to recover from his pectoral injury. Amid his absence from the lineup, both Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Malik Herring will need to step up in the Bay Area.

But the availability of JuJu Smith-Schuster bears good news for the Chiefs, as he was instrumental in their last game against the Saints.

JuJu Smith-Schuster earns praises from Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid after Saints clash

Joining the Chiefs for a second stint on August 26, JuJu stepped up big-time against the Saints in Kansas City last time out. It was his most productive game to date since racking up 13 catches for 157 yards in 2021, playing for black and gold. After 1,366 days, it was time for Smith-Schuster to rise again, as he scooped in seven catches for 130 yards at Arrowhead.

This garnered him praise from not only head coach Andy Reid but also from Patrick Mahomes, who played an equally important part in his return. Reid described him as a “good football player,” while the reigning NFL champion Mahomes said, “He has a good feel for the entire concept of the play. So he knows how to get into the open spots, he has a good understanding of my timing, so some of those things. I can hit him early in some windows, maybe that aren’t necessarily taught. It’s just learned over reps.”

Well, for the first season he played with the Chiefs, he was simply brilliant. As he racked up 78 receptions in 2022, which was higher than any other WR that season. And to top it off, he finished it with a team-high 7 catches as the Chiefs bagged Super Bowl LVII against the Eagles. Will the 27-year-old continue to impress in this second stint in Kansas City? Well, the answer could be in Mahomes’ hand, as he is the one throwing passes in the Chiefs Kingdom. If those two can combine the way they had against the Saints, then it would be light work for the Chiefs as they march towards a historical 3-peat.