Kansas City Chiefs DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman (shoulder) is back on the field shortly after exiting Monday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hardman was forced to exit in the first quarter after suffering a shoulder injury while returning a punt. He was taken to the locker room to be evaluated, but appears to be fine. He's back and returned a punt in the second quarter of this game. Hardman was yet to be targeted as a receiver with the game nearly at halftime. However, Hardman is a solid punt returner, so having him back is a plus for the Chiefs.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman (shoulder) was forced to exit during the first quarter of Monday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hardman suffered a shoulder injury during a punt return and was taken to the locker room. He's currently being evaluated and is considered as questionable to return to Monday's game. The absence of Hardman won't have much of an impact on this offense. He didn't see a target before exiting and has only been targeted three times over the last two games.

The Kansas City Chiefs elevated wide receiver Justyn Ross from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster on Monday night for the Week 9 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will be Ross' first game of 2024 on the team's active roster with JuJu Smith-Schuster (hamstring) missing his second straight game. KC is also without Rashee Rice (knee) and Marquise Brown (shoulder) for the rest of the year, which led them to trade for veteran DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins should have a bigger role on Monday alongside rookie Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson and Mecole Hardman, with tight end Travis Kelce also having a higher ceiling and floor in fantasy. The 24-year-old Ross had six catches for 53 yards in his 10 regular-season games for the Chiefs a season ago. Fantasy managers should continue to ignore Ross.

New England Patriots wide receivers K.J. Osborn (coach's decision) and Tyquan Thornton (coach's decision) are both healthy scratches for Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans. Neither player had been listed on the injury report, so their absence on Sunday is the direct result of a decision made by head coach Jerod Mayo. Both Osborn and Thornton have been mentioned in trade rumors, so perhaps keeping them sidelined is linked to a potential deal looming ahead of Tuesday's 4 p.m. trade deadline.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (leg) has been making progress from his fractured leg he suffered in Week 2. The Chiefs said Pacheco was expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks, but rule out the possibility of Pacheco missing the rest of the regular season. Now, Pacheco is expected to make a late-November return. It'll be interesting to see how the Chiefs involve Pacheco once he's back on the field. Kareem Hunt has played well as the lead back over the last four games. The expectation is that the Chiefs have the two backs split up the duties in the backfield. That would likely make for a messy situation for fantasy managers.