With all eyes looking to Thursday's preseason finale with the Packers, the Kansas City Chiefs continue to deal with a number of injuries on both sides of the ball as the 2012 NFL season looms large.
Among the most pressing issues for head coach Romeo Crennel right now is the health of his secondary, as defensive backs Brandon Flowers, Kendrick Lewis and Jalil Brown all continue to sit out with respective injuries. "Flowers is still working on his foot, Kendrick is still working on his shoulder, but Kendrick is beginning to do strengthening motions and things like that, so he’s coming on a little bit," Crennel said.
The timetable for the 24-year-old Brown appears to be a bit more inconsistent however, as he's one of two players on the roster along with wide receiver Terrance Copper currently dealing with a nagging groin injury. "We’ve got two guys with groins," Crennel said, "So we’re going to rest those guys and try to get them back as soon as possible also."
Aside from also being forced to treat ankle injuries to defensive linemen Allen Bailey and Anthony Toribio, Crennel did offer up a bit of good news as he announced that both tailback Cyrus Gray and corner DeQuan Menzie would begin to be eased back into action. "Cyrus Gray and Menzie, they’ll be out there in a limited form and fashion and we’ll see what they can do," he said. "We’re going to keep an eye on our big three with the knees – just check their reps and not overdo it with those guys."
It's obvious that staying healthy will be a big part of what the Chiefs want to achieve in 2012, but this is hardly a promising start after a campaign a year ago that was marred by ill-timed injuries. Crennel's defensive secondary alone is taking the brunt of things right now, and that could be a recipe for disaster playing the same division as Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning.
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