The NFL’s football operations page announced all Week 8 fines on November 2, and two players were penalized for actions that occurred during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
On the Chiefs’ side of things, cornerback Joshua Williams was fined $6,398 for what NFL football operations described as “unnecessary roughness (late hit).” The play in question took place in the third quarter.
Earlier in the game in quarter two, Raiders cornerback Jakorian Bennett committed what was deemed to be a different form of unnecessary roughness — a hip-drop tackle. He was fined a similar amount as Williams, forfeiting $6,227.
These were the only two NFL fines for Chiefs versus Raiders.
Joshua Williams Expected to Play Larger Role in Week 9 With Chiefs Short-handed at Cornerback
The Chiefs are already without starting cornerback Jaylen Watson for the remainder of the regular season, but head coach Andy Reid also ruled out Nazeeh Johnson (concussion) for Week 9 on November 2. That means Williams will likely be called upon to start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I thought there were some really good downs,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said of Johnson and Williams’ respective performances in Week 8.
Having said that, he did specifically highlight Williams’ penalty as an area that KC would like to clean up. “I think both those guys could probably play better and I think they’d probably tell you that,” Spagnuolo voiced, seemingly challenging his young CBs once again.
According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson was on the field for 18 defensive snaps before his injury, while Williams played the other 39 defensive snaps. Both graded out pretty well in run defense and tackling, but Williams had moments where he struggled in coverage.
PFF charged him with a 118.8 passer rating allowed despite only being targeted once. He allowed a 17-yard reception on that target, and also drew the penalty flag that Spagnuolo mentioned.
“I’m going into my third year, so there is definitely some experience now that comes with it,” Williams told reporters on October 31 (via Arrowhead Pride). “Had this been my rookie year, it could have been a more difficult adjustment.”
The third-year corner also noted that “the staff does a great job of keeping everybody ready,” adding: “I feel like I’ve been ready for this opportunity, and I’m going to make the most of it.”
Chiefs Make 2 Tight End Moves After Jared Wiley News
Along with Johnson, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (hamstring), defensive end Mike Danna (pectoral) and tight end Jared Wiley (knee) were ruled out for Week 9 on November 2.
Unfortunately, the latter’s injury was revealed to be season-ending, as Reid relayed that Wiley suffered a torn ACL at practice. That news led to a domino effect of roster moves at tight end.
“We have signed Practice Squad player TE Peyton Hendershot to an active roster contract,” the Chiefs posted on X. The account then added that “we signed TE Anthony Firkser to the Practice Squad.”
For the time being, this bolsters the tight end room after injuries to Wiley, Jody Fortson and Baylor Cupp.
Hendershot first joined the organization via trade with the Dallas Cowboys ahead of the 53-man cutdown. Later, they waived Hendershot after a brief Week 2 debut and a $100,000 organizational fine that was issued after the tight end shoved linebacker Roquan Smith in defense of Patrick Mahomes II.
Hendershot was fined for this shove because he was inactive at the time.
Firkser was just released by the New York Jets on October 31. He’s a journeyman blocking tight end that has kept an NFL job since 2018, but he’s only appeared in six games over the past two seasons.
