Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs offense practicing without its two top wide receivers

Published Aug. 11, 2015 11:59 p.m. ET

foxsports

Frankie Hammond Jr. and Fred Williams would be Chiefs starters if they played the Texans right now.

That regular season opener is a month away. Jeremy Maclin (neck strain) and Albert Wilson (illness) will return and reclaim their jobs in time, but that's the Chiefs' reality right now.

"We’re at that time of camp where everybody is a little nicked up and banged up and of course we’ve got some illness and things," offensive coordinator Doug Pederson told ESPN.

Pederson isn't sounding the alarm in Kansas City. Maclin and Wilson are still getting work done in the classroom, just not with Hammond Jr. and Williams on the practice field.

Those practices could be compromised if neither returns soon. The Chiefs were extremely thin at receiver last year, and despite their best efforts, they're still relatively young.

Alex Smith might find it hard to throw to players who haven't withstood the grind of a few training camps before.

Said Pederson: "You fight through that and these guys will get a couple of days to rest and heal and we’ll finish up training camp next week."

(h/t ESPN)