Chiefs’ Travis Kelce is questionable; Broncos rule out Frank Clark

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It looks like the status of Travis Kelce will remain in question right up until 90 minutes before kickoff Thursday night.

The Chiefs listed Kelce as questionable for Thursday’s game, and estimated him as a limited participant in the Wednesday practice report. The practice-workload estimations are made in lieu of the teams having actual sessions, which are wiped out because of the short week leading up to Thursday Night Football.

FRANK CLARK WILL NOT PLAY AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAM

The Broncos ruled out three defensive players for Thursday’s game: edge rusher Baron Browning, defensive lineman D.J. Jones, and Clark, who returned to action Sunday, but missed Tuesday’s practice because of what was listed as an illness.

Clark missed three weeks with a partially torn abductor muscle before playing last Sunday. Two weeks ago, he spoke at length about wanting to play against the Chiefs, with whom he spent four seasons — three of which ended in the Super Bowl, with two wins in the sport’s biggest game.

“I’m praying I can be back,” Clark said on Sept. 28. “At the end of the day, I thought I was going to be back to play this week. And I’m not ready. So, you can only hope that you’re gonna be healthy and hope that you’re gonna be back when you deal with what I was dealing with.”

Frank Clark on his injury and his hopes of returning by the Chiefs game: “And I’m praying I can be back. At the end of the day, I thought I was going to be back to play this week. And I’m not ready. So, you can only hope that you’re gonna be healthy and hope …” pic.twitter.com/fizbzG3C0d

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 28, 2023

With Clark not playing, Browning still on the physically-unable-to-perform list and Randy Gregory now with the 49ers after last Friday’s trade, the Broncos have just three edge rushers on the 53-player roster: Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto and rookie Thomas Incoom.

Jones will miss Thursday’s game after suffering a knee injury against the New York Jets three days ago. He was seen working out on the north practice field Tuesday. With Jones out, Mike Purcell is expected to receive a starting assignment.

DENVER IS GETTING GREG DULCICH READY TO RETURN

Second-year tight end Greg Dulcich practiced Tuesday on a limited basis. But in an estimation of Wednesday’s session, the Broncos listed Dulcich as a full participant.

The Broncos are still listing Dulcich as questionable. However, the team cleared a roster spot to move Dulcich off injured reserve and onto the 53-player roster by releasing Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who had a touchdown reception in Week 1.

Humphrey saw his offensive snaps decline over the course of the last five weeks. He played 45 snaps in Week 1 against the Raiders; that came when Jerry Jeudy was inactive with a hamstring injury. Jeudy returned for Week 2, and Humphrey’s snap count dropped to 21. It further declined to 13, 10 and 8 snaps in Weeks 3, 4 and 5, respectively.

Should Dulcich play Thursday, it will mark his 12th career regular-season game. Dulcich missed 11 games over three injured-reserve stints in the last two years.

Dulcich doesn’t have the pedigree of Travis Kelce. But one can argue that the Broncos need their primary pass-catching tight end just as much as the Chiefs need theirs.

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