Super Bowl LVII: Injury latest as Chiefs and Eagles enjoy final practice sessions
Mirror Sport is in Arizona for Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, bringing readers all the updates as the teams prepare for Sunday
The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles enjoyed their final practice sessions in Arizona ahead of Friday’s Super Bowl LVII.
The Chiefs are in their third Super Bowl in four years under the leadership of dynamic head coach-quarterback tandem Andy Reid and two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. On Thursday, the 27-year-old was named the 2022 MVP after a dominant season as he led the Chiefs to a 14-3 record and hit the practice field for the final time to fine-tune his preparations ahead of the game against Philadelphia.
Reid ensured the workout was relatively short, with the session lasting approximately 66 minutes from first horn to collapse. The legendary head coach confirmed that all players are “full participants”, adding: “They all practiced, everyone practiced. I feel pretty good with them.”
Friday’s practice, held in strong gusts of wind under clear Arizona skies, focused heavily on red-zone situations. According to Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr, more than 20 Chiefs players stayed on the field after practice to catch extra passes from the machine or do individual work.
Mahomes (ankle), receiver Kadarius Toney (ankle/hamstring), linebacker Willie Gay (shoulder), running back Jerick McKinnon (ankle), running back Isiah Pacheco (wrist), guard Trey Smith (ankle) and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster ( knees) were all in action. Also, L’Jarius Sneed (knee) was taking reps so Reid should enjoy a full and available roster next Sunday.
“He had a lot of snaps today, he had quite a lot of snaps today, which was good,” Reid said. “And I think he came out well too.”
Reid also compared the final session of the season to studying for the final exams. The Super Bowl is a test that Reid has passed and failed in the past, though he believes his Chiefs “have exhausted everything” to ensure they look their best when they face off against the Eagles.
As for Philadelphia, Friday’s practice was physically far easier than Thursday’s practice as they also focused on red-zone situations. This should come as no surprise: Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has structured Friday practices this way all season.
Like the Chiefs, the Eagles are healthy and only receiver Britain Covey (hamstring) is considered questionable for the Super Bowl. Everyone else took a full part in practice and Sirianni is asking his players to focus while resting their bodies before facing the Chiefs.
Sirianni had his team simulate the show break at halftime by leaving Philadelphia off the field before returning to perform the moves of stretching and returning to game speed. The players went through one final low-intensity session after that break before defense star Fletcher Cox collapsed the team in the final post-training round of Super Bowl week.
The Eagles will hold a short walk-through session on Saturday before players and coaches spend time with their families. Philadelphia will face Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on Sunday.