Coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs hinted that outside linebacker Justin Houston might make his return in the Week 11 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The coach made the statement after Houston was spotted practicing with the team.
Since the beginning of the 2016 NFL season, Houston has been on the Chiefs' physically unable to perform list after undergoing an offseason surgery to repair his knee due to the ACL injury he suffered last year, according to Pro Football Talk.
Since then, he has been on the sidelines just watching the team.
However, last month, following the team's bye week, the Chiefs activated Houston. Although he was already part of the active roster when the team took on the Carolina Panthers at Week 10, the Chiefs decided to let him rest.
But, earlier this week, Houston was seen practicing with the rest of the Kansas City squad. Given his current condition, it seems the Chiefs are preparing him to return for the upcoming game on Sunday.
According to Reid, the team has not yet made an official decision if it will allow Houston to play. The coach noted that this will still depend on how he performs at practice.
"I want to see how he does today, but we're heading in that direction," Reid said in a statement. "Let's just see how it works today and as long as it's progress forward, then we'll take it day-by-day and see how he does."
Aside from Houston, the Chiefs also have a couple of players that the team is expecting to return soon. These include Jeremy Maclin, who got injured at Week 9, and Marcus Peters, who was sidelined last week.
Although Reid did not say if these two will be able to return for the game against the Buccaneers, he noted that both Maclin and Peters' conditions are improving.
"[Marcus is] making progress but he's not there yet," the coach said, "Every day he's getting a little bit better. It's just day-by-day and we'll see how he does. But he's not ready to go today."
"[Peters] was favoring that a little bit towards the end," he added. "He's doing good though and making progress."
