While the Kansas City Chiefs are about as healthy as they could possibly be at such a late stage of a grueling sport—six months into the physical play that football requires—there are still some players that we miss seeing in red and gold as Super Bowl LIX comes into view.

The Chiefs are preparing to play the Philadelphia Eagles for the chance at a historic three-peat in a rematch of NFL powers from two years ago. Both teams boast talented rosters, but the Chiefs are missing a few players who would be vital contributors and key role players if everyone could be healthy. That said, both sides could say the same.

Player health is just as important to a team’s chances of success as anything else in the NFL these days, including talent and luck and preparation. Here are a few players we wish could be a part of the actual game, but we’re at least glad they’re on the sidelines to appreciate the festivities all the same.

Rashee Rice, WR

Any list of players missed simply must begin with the most obvious entry: wide receiver Rashee Rice.

While the Chiefs have enjoyed the return of Hollywood Brown, the growth of Xavier Worthy, and the acquisition of DeAndre Hopkins, the engine in the wide receiver room is undoubtedly Rice and his incredible ability to dominate a game as a volume target who adds ungodly amounts of yards after making the catch.

The power slot role next to Travis Kelce has allowed Rice to feast and has earned him the unyielding trust of Patrick Mahomes. When that connection was lost due to Rice’s season-ending injury, the Chiefs offense sputtered forward for several weeks as the defense carried them toward season’s end.

The Chiefs’ offense is moving right along these days, but RIce is definitely missed. Do they have enough weapons to beat the Eagles? If not, Rice’s absence will be the thing that everyone points to.

Jack Cochrane, LB

Not all losses are on the level of Rashee Rice, but that doesn’t make them easy to stomach. When the Chiefs lost Jack Cochrane for the rest of the season shortly before Christmas, special teams play took a big hit with the loss of one of Dave Toub’s core players.

Cochrane went down with an ankle injury against the Houston Texans during the regular season, and just like that, the Chiefs lost some linebacker depth and a trusted special teamer. Cochrane has played nearly 80 percent of all special teams snaps in each of the last two years. Last season, he was depended on a bit more defensively as well with 180 defensive snaps.

Cochrane joined the Chiefs in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of South Dakota and will return in 2025 for his final season under contract. The Chiefs have moved on this offseason to Swayze Bozeman and others, but it’d be nice to have Cochrane’s experience on Sunday.

Jared Wiley, TE

Oh, what might have been?

Okay, we’re being dramatic here, because not much was really expected of Jared Wiley coming into this season. He was competing with Irv Smith for TE3 duties coming into training camp and was clearly sitting behind Noah Gray and Travis Kelce coming into the regular season. So yeah, expectations were low.

Still, it’s fun to watch rookies blossom over time—just look at Xavier Worthy’s importance from Week 1 to the AFC Championship game—and watching Wiley learn the ropes from the best ever to play the position would have been a fun ascent. Instead, Wiley was lost to a torn ACL in practice at midseason, which means the Chiefs will wait for 2025 to see what they have in the former fourth round pick.

If Wiley could have showcased the sort of hands he showed off at TCU, it would have made for some nice 13 personnel packages against the Eagles.

Mecole Hardman, WR

This one should be obvious.

Mecole Hardman has been an important postseason figure for the Chiefs in past Super Bowls, and while we’re excited to see Nikko Remigio continue to turn heads on the team’s current run, Hardman’s speed and experience would have been nice assets to have in hand for K.C.’s special teams on such a big stage once again.

Instead of seeing Hardman on returns, however, the Chiefs decided to shut down his season even after opening the 21-day window within which he could have returned from injured reserve earlier this postseason. Whether he was not yet ready or the Chiefs felt he would be less effective, it feels like the end of the road for Hardman in K.C.

B.J. Thompson, DE

One of the scariest points of the entire season for the Chiefs was the tragic moment when B.J. Thompson suffered a seizure and went into cardiac arrest at Arrowhead during the preseason. While we’re glad Thompson was eventually cleared and is hopefully feeling very healthy these days, the second-year pass rusher has been sidelined all year.

We’re not sure if we’ll ever see Thompson on the field for the Chiefs—such health matters are simply out of anyone’s purview at this stage—but his potential was always intriguing as a situational pass rusher coming into the NFL as a highly productive player from a smaller school like Stephen F. Austin. The former fifth round pick could still turn into something for the Chiefs. We just wish he’d had a chance to prove what he can do this season.

Jody Fortson, TE

Jody Fortson was a surprise addition to the Chiefs’ roster early in the season—at least on the practice squad—and it felt like largely unnecessary with the presence of Kelce, Gray, and Wiley. However, after losing Baylor Cupp to an injury, the Chiefs had a spot for some TE depth there and Fortson took over.

When losing Wiley and Peyton Hendershot to injury during the regular season, there was a brief opening for Fortson to log some time and he appeared in three games for the Chiefs. That was enough time for only a single catch on three targets for five yards.

Unfortunately for Fortson, a torn ACL against the Raiders gave him another major injury hurdle in a career filled with them. The former undrafted free agent deserves serious credit, however, for carving out such a long NFL career despite coming out of Valdosta State and dealing with a number of health concerns along the way. Another Super Bowl appearance is not the cards, but it’d be nice to see him there.