KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Eric Berry probably won’t play for the Kansas City Chiefs in Thursday night’s final preseason game against the Green Bay Packers at Arrowhead Stadium. The same goes for Derrick Johnson, Marcus Peters and the rest of their defensive starters and key reserves.
But somebody has to play for the Chiefs. On defense, here are some players to watch for:
Line: The Chiefs have rotated four players, including rookie Chris Jones, with the first team. That leaves Nick Williams, David King, Jimmy Staten and Rakeem Nunez-Roches to get the snaps against the Packers.
Linebacker: Justin March has been starting at inside linebacker in place of the injured Josh Mauga, who is out for the season. Judging from how the Chiefs worked in practice Tuesday, March won’t play against Green Bay. If not, that leaves plenty of work for a group of young inside linebackers that includes Ramik Wilson, Terrance Smith, D.J. Alexander and Tyrell Adams. On the outside, Tamba Hali, Dee Ford and Frank Zombo probably won’t play. That would leave much of the playing time to Andy Mulumba, Dezman Moses and rookie Dadi Nicolas.
Cornerback: Forget about seeing Peters. If the Chiefs follow the pattern of practice this week, Phillip Gaines and Steven Nelson also won’t play. Marcus Cooper, D.J. White, KeiVarae Russell and the recently acquired Kenneth Acker will play.
Safety: Berry signed only Sunday and could benefit from playing in this game, but coach Andy Reid said it probably won’t happen. The same goes for Ron Parker and Daniel Sorensen. Look for plenty of Eric Murray, Brock Vereen, Jamell Fleming and Shak Randolph.
