Chiefs have surprise name pop up on Super Bowl injury report just three days before game vs. Eagles

The Kansas City Chiefs are mostly healthy heading into Super Bowl LIX, but they did have a surprise name show up on their injury report on Thursday. 

Punter Matt Araiza was listed on the report with an illness, which is notable for multiple reasons. For one, he wasn’t listed on the Wednesday injury report, which means the illness is something that popped up over the past 24 hours. 

The good news is that Araiza was listed as a full participant in practice. 

Here’s what the Chiefs’ injury report looked like Thursday. 

Mahomes showed up on the injury report again, but that’s not an issue at this point. Mahomes has been listed with an ankle injury for every round of the playoffs so far. 

As for Araiza, the Chiefs should be fine for Sunday. But if his illness takes a turn for the worse, that could put them in a precarious situation, because not only does he serve as the team’s punter, but he’s also the holder for extra points and field goals. If Araiza has a fever or something similar that causes clammy hands, that could cause issues while he’s holding. 

Right now, it’s not an issue, but it’s a situation we’ll certainly want to keep our eye on as the Chiefs get set to turn in their final injury report on Friday. Araiza, who’s in his first season with the Chiefs, has only punted four times through two playoff games.