Tyreek Hill among 4 KC Chiefs who missed practice Wednesday; Chris Jones, Ward returned

Some of the names have changed, but the Chiefs were missing key starters for the first day of game-week practice on Wednesday.

With the Chiefs set to play the Titans in Tennessee on Sunday, coach Andy Reid said that wide receiver Tyreek Hill (quad contusion), linebacker Anthony Hitchens (triceps contusion), fullback Michael Burton (left pectoral strain) and left guard Joe Thuney (hand) would not practice Wednesday.

Hill hurt one of his quad muscles in Week 5 against Buffalo and was absent during some of Sunday afternoon’s road win against the Washington Football Team. He played on 47 of the Chiefs’ 82 offensive snaps and was still productive, with 76 yards on a team-high nine receptions. He was targeted a team-high 12 times by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“We’ll just let that calm back down,” Reid said of Hill’s injury.

Hitchens was hurt in the second quarter against Washington and did not return to the game. His absence Wednesday meant the Chiefs’ starting linebacker corps for the midweek session would feature Ben Niemann, Willie Gay Jr., and rookie Nick Bolton.

Reid said Thuney was being rested. The left guard fractured a hand against the Bills but played through it and didn’t miss any snaps against Washington.

While the Chiefs were missing a quartet of starters, they welcomed back defensive lineman Chris Jones (wrist), cornerback Charvarius Ward (quad) and tight end Blake Bell, who was inactive in Week 6 with a back injury.

Jones has missed two straight games and hasn’t practiced since Week 4, while Ward hasn’t played since Week 2.

Reid said he wanted to see how the missed time would affect Jones and Ward as Sunday’s game approached.

“Just kind of get back in the swing, knock the rust off, get back in the swing of things,” Reid said. “They’ve been working hard; (it’s) just they haven’t been practicing. Their conditioning won’t be necessarily the issue, just getting back out there and doing the football stuff.”

Reid also revealed that tight end Jody Fortson, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in Week 6, underwent surgery Wednesday morning and is on the road to recovery.

“He’ll be back,” Reid said. “He’s building a nice foundation for himself, so he got a taste of it, and it’s just a matter of him getting in and rehabbing, getting himself back. But he knows that he can play now. Not that he didn’t know that before, but he’s done it (now).”

Fortson finishes the season with five catches for 47 yards and two touchdowns.

The Chiefs later in the afternoon designated Jones, Ward, safety Tyrann Mathieu (thumb, toe), tight end Travis Kelce (neck), defensive tackle Jarran Reed (back) and guard Trey Smith (ankle) as limited participants in practice.

During the portion of practice open to the media, Mathieu was observed on the field with his right thumb bandaged.

Kelce originally suffered a stinger in Week 5 and played through it in Week 6, posting a team-high 99 yards on eight catches in the Chiefs’ 31-13 win at Washington.

The Chiefs listed Bell, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (groin), cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (wrist), defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (ankle) and cornerback Chris Lammons (shin) as practicing fully Wednesday.

For the Titans, wide receiver A.J. Brown (illness), wide receiver Julio Jones (hamstring), cornerback Chris Jackson (ankle), tackle Taylor Lewan (concussion), running back Jeremy McNichols (ankle), wide receiver Chester Rogers (groin) and kicker Randy Bullock (shoulder) did not practice.

The Titans listed guard Rodger Saffold (shoulder), linebacker Monty Rice (groin) and fullback Khari Blasingame (shoulder) as limited.