Super Bowl LVII is an interesting matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. We have two 16-3 teams with the No. 1 passing offense against the No. 1 passing defense.
There is no doubt that Patrick Mahomes going up against that defense with 70 sacks is the premiere matchup in this game, but who will Mahomes be throwing to after three of his wide receivers left the AFC Championship Game with injuries?
Using the OddsTrader BetStation, we look at the Injury Tracker to pinpoint a few injuries you should take note of for your prop bets, game picks, and other NFL picks for Super Bowl Sunday.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday, February 12, 2023 – 06:30 PM EST at State Farm Stadium
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (Kansas City Chiefs)
- Injury: Knee
- Game Status: Questionable
There are not many details yet about JuJu Smith-Schuster’s knee injury, which caused him to leave the AFC Championship Game after playing 45% of the snaps and catching one pass for 7 yards.
The Chiefs did not actually practice on Wednesday, but they were required to put out a report that would estimate the practice status of their injured players. Smith-Schuster was considered a did not practice, which is not great news for his Super Bowl availability, but it is still early.
He would be probably the most important player to get back in the fold since he is the de facto No. 1 wide receiver in this offense with 78 catches for 933 yards in the regular season. But JuJu has been quiet in the playoffs with three grabs for 36 yards in two games.
Obviously, the Chiefs still have Travis Kelce and can get by, but Smith-Schuster would be a nice option to have in the slot and someone who can block and knows the offense well.
WR Kadarius Toney (Kansas City Chiefs)
- Injury: Ankle
- Game Status: Questionable
Must be Groundhog Day because Kadarius Toney has a leg injury again. He lasted four snaps and caught one ball in the AFC Championship Game before exiting with his injury. He also dropped a touchdown on the opening drive for the Chiefs.
Like Smith-Schuster, Toney was considered a non-participant in Wednesday’s practice if they had one. He will be questionable to play, but with his history, expectations should be low on him returning and producing. Health continues to be his downfall and you can see why the Giants were quick to move him in a trade earlier this season.
WR Mecole Hardman (Kansas City Chiefs)
- Injury: Pelvis
- Game Status: Questionable
Our third and final wide receiver injury for the Chiefs is Mecole Hardman, who says he aggravated an old pelvis injury and will be good to go for the Super Bowl. We’ll see if he is right about that, because the team listed him as another “did not participate” in Wednesday’s practice estimation.
Hardman just returned for his first action since Week 9. Against the Bengals, he had 4 touches for 17 yards and played 15 offensive snaps before the injury knocked him out. The Chiefs were going with a lot of Skyy Moore and Marcus Kemp when this trio of wide receivers were out.
Justin Watson was inactive for Sunday’s game, but the Chiefs may want to make sure he is up for this one after what happened against Cincinnati.
The Receiver Situation
Frankly, the Chiefs do not need all three wide receivers to return healthy for the Super Bowl. Getting Smith-Schuster would be most ideal, then getting at least one of Hardman and Toney would be fine. They have almost never had both together this year anyway, and they do similar things so where they do not need both.
Chances are all three will try their best to play as it is the Super Bowl, and it is highly unlikely that all three will be out. But this will put a lot of pressure on Travis Kelce to produce even more at tight end, not to mention running backs Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon.
But at least the good news is that Patrick Mahomes was listed as a full practice participant with his ankle injury. That is still the most important piece here.
CB L’Jarius Sneed (Kansas City Chiefs)
- Injury: Concussion
- Game Status: Questionable
This is arguably the bigger injury to the Chiefs than the wide receivers. L’Jarius Sneed is the team’s best corner and he suffered a concussion just four snaps into the AFC Championship Game.
Fortunately, the Chiefs made just enough plays in the secondary to get two interceptions from Joe Burrow and not get destroyed by great receivers like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase still came down with a fourth-down bomb, and Higgins caught a beautiful touchdown over two defenders. But they held the Bengals to 20 points without their best corner.
The Eagles also have a stellar receiver duo with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, though Brown has been very quiet in the postseason while the Eagles have barely needed to throw the ball. Still, Sneed would be a big loss if he could not go in this one.
Fortunately, we have seen players suffer a concussion on Sunday and play the next Sunday. They will be careful with the new protocol in place this season, but there is certainly a chance that after two weeks, Sneed will be able to play in this Super Bowl.
OT Lane Johnson (Philadelphia Eagles)
- Injury: Groin
- Game Status: Questionable
Just to give some perspective on where the Eagles are health-wise, they listed five players as “id not participate” in practice as an estimate for Wednesday as they did not actually practice either.
The most notable name is right tackle Lane Johnson, who says he re-tore his groin injury in the divisional round against the Giants but is going to tough it out to finish this season. He will likely skip some practices for this rest, but he should be able to play in the Super Bowl after playing 60 snaps against the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Other Eagles Injuries
Left guard Landon Dickerson also was a “did not participate” after he injured his elbow in Sunday’s game. We will have to keep an eye on his practice status going forward, but the Eagles still have one of the best offensive lines around regardless if Dickerson plays or not.
The other injured players include defensive depth such as corner Avonte Maddox and defensive end Robert Quinn. Both had been out but managed to play limited snaps against the 49ers.
This really is a Super Bowl where hopefully the two weeks off will pay off for both teams and especially both quarterbacks, as Jalen Hurts also had that shoulder sprain in Week 15. But Travis Kelce (back), Lane Johnson (groin), and the Kansas City receivers are just several of the players hoping to be as close to 100% as possible for this game.
We know they are going to give it everything they have in the final game of the 2022 NFL season.
