The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face their rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders, in an AFC West matchup. With less than 24 hours left in the game, the Chiefs have made a move for a two-time Super Bowl champion whom the fans will see for the third time this season, but it adds another layer of problems under the rules.
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“We have activated Practice Squad player LB Cole Christiansen via Standard Elevation,” the Chiefs announced via their X account. Christiansen has been key for the Chiefs to dodge the ongoing knee injury to linebacker Cooper McDonald.
Christiansen has already featured in two games for the Chiefs, playing 18 snaps against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 and 10 snaps in Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins, all on special teams, recording two tackles. But there is an issue going forward with Christiansen.
In a standard elevation, a player goes back to the practice squad once the final whistle is blown. A player can’t be elevated from the practice squad more than three times, and the Chiefs have now reached the limit to bring Christiansen to the active 53-man roster.
This makes the Chiefs’ depth even thinner, though McDonald will have time to recover since the Chiefs have Week 5 as a bye week, and he would need to miss just one more game, as he’s on injured reserve, which requires you to sit for four games.
Christiansen, on the other hand, will be a great support, as he has been for the team ever since he came in 2022. He was also part of the 2023 and 2024 championship teams, too. However, Christiansen has played 23 games for the Chiefs up to now, but he has yet to take a defensive snap. He has mostly been relegated to special teams duties; he took 141 snaps here during the 2024 season.
While the Chiefs will not be able to elevate Christiansen until the postseason, when the elevation status updates for the whole roster, they do have another option in Cam Jones, a promising player who can fill in for McDonald for another game.
The Chiefs can also sign a linebacker from free agency, which was an option for the team in mid-September after McDonald’s injury. They had tryouts with four linebackers, but signed none.
The Chiefs have made this move amid the biggest challenge of their season yet, with the Raiders looking like an unfamiliar team, given their past seasons’ performances.
Chiefs and Raiders game is going to be an all-out clash in the AFC West
The Raiders have been the worst team in the AFC West division for the past two years. But entering Week 4 this year, they are off to a hot start with 3-0 on the board. The Chiefs might have thumped them into defeat more times in this decade (five games with a victory margin of more than 20 points), the Raiders will not be an easy opponent this time.
38-year-old Kirk Cousins has been a game changer for the Raiders, having thrown nine touchdowns for the team so far. Raiders tight end Brock Bowers has also been impressive after returning in the last game from a knee injury, recording 10 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.
“We only got one game on him this year, and how they’re going to use him,” Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said. “But obviously, he’s versatile with the ball. They find different ways to get him involved in the offense, spread him out, put him in location, screen game, so we’ve got to be aware of where he’s at. Just kind of have 22 eyes on him… that’s the game plan.”
But who is the mastermind behind the Raiders’ revelation? It is the new head coach of the team, Klint Kubiak, whom Reid also praised during his press conference ahead of the game.
“He’s a good football coach; he’s got good assistant coaches, guys that have been in the business for a while, and they’ve got good schemes,” Reid said. “The guys are executing it and executing it fast and accurate. They’ve got a ton of turnovers, and batted balls and everything else,” Reid pointed out. “So they’re playing aggressive football.”
The Raiders have forced nine turnovers this season, leading the league in this stat. Rookie cornerback Hezekiah Masses is tied with New York Giants’ Jevon Holland for the most interceptions (three) so far.
It is definitely not going to be a cakewalk in the park for the Chiefs, and Reid and his team are certainly taking the Raiders seriously, with Reid also having a chance to become the coach with the most wins at Allegiant Stadium this Sunday. However, Reid doesn’t care about the records and is only focusing on strategies to overpower the Raiders.