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The Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs are on a collision course, as their game this Thursday will kick off the 2023 NFL season. With that said, here are notable injuries from each side which could impact fantasy football decisions for this particular game.
Lions injury report
The Lions don't seem to have any major injuries on their offense ahead of their season opener against the Chiefs on the road. In fact, only one player from the offense is on their most recent injury report.
Frank Ragnow (Full Participation). Coming off his second Pro Bowl season, Ragnow is easily viewed as one of the most important players on offense for the Lions. And while he's not on anyone's fantasy team, Ragnow will have a tremendous impact on Detroit's attack. The 27-year-old Ragnow missed practice on Tuesday and appeared on the team's injury report with a DNP. However, that doesn't look like a big surprise, as the Lions are said to be merely taking it easy with his foot, per Detroit beat writer Justin Rogers.
“On Ragnow missing today's practice, that's going to be part of a season-long maintenance routine for the center. He'll likely sit out once a week. I'm told there hasn't been a setback, this is just aiming to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on his toe.”
Ragnow, who is the only center at the moment on the Lions' depth chart, however, has returned to practice on Wednesday, so it's looking like he's on the right track in terms of his availability for the Week 1 showdown against the Chiefs.
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Chiefs injury report
Travis Kelce (Tight End). No injury heading into Week 1 of the Lions vs. Chiefs matchup has sent bigger shockwaves across the fantasy football realm than Kelce's. The superstar tight end reportedly hyperextended his knee during practice early this week, leaving his owners alarmed over his prospects of playing not just in Week 1 of the regular season against the Lions but also beyond that.
However, his questionable designation for the Lions game is a great sign for Kelce and his owners. It gives an indication that his injury is not serious enough to keep him out for multiple weeks while providing hope that he will be out there on the field this Thursday. Jason Kelce, Travis' brother, also said that the swelling in the tight end's knee is being managed and that the Chiefs star did not sustain a tear or break.
“I know he's got some swelling going on, but it sounds like as long as they can get that down, he's gonna have a chance to go,” Jason said during an appearance on the WUP Morning Show. “The ligaments and everything are intact, structurally, from what we know right now, his knee's fine. So really it's about getting that swelling down and then seeing how bruised that bone is.”
Kadarius Toney (Full Participant). The wide receiver got a limited participant tag on Tuesday but has been upgraded to a full participant on Wednesday. His removal from the Chiefs' injury report is obviously good news for Kansas City. If Kelce gets ultimately ruled out for the Lions contest, Toney will be among those expected to benefit from the target volume the tight end would leave on the table, especially since he is considered the team's No. 1 wide receiver
