Chiefs CB Brandon Flowers playing in the season-opener against Atlanta on Sunday is starting to look like a real posibility.

The plan for Flowers on Monday was to practice in a limited role for the first time since he injured his left heel on July 31.

"He's better," coach Romeo Crennel told Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star on Sunday. "I haven't seen him do anything yet but I think he will be OK because he said he's making progress."

Crennel has a laundry list of injured players on defense to monitor this week. LB Derrick Johnson (ankle), NT Anthony Toribio (ankle), DE Allen Bailey (ankle) and S Kendrick Lewis (shoulder) did not practice on Monday. Crennel has said Lewis will not play against Atlanta, but he has not ruled out Johnson, Toribio or Bailey.

Toribio and Bailey missed last Thursday's final preseason game against Green Bay; Johnson was injured during the game. 

"Derrick has been a fast healer," Crennel said Sunday. "We anticipate he'll play ready to go. We’ll see through the course of the week how he progresses."

CB Jalil Brown, who backs up Flowers, was also limited at practice on Monday with a groin injury. Brown was injured in the third preseason game against Seattle and missed the Green Bay game. 

On offense, the Chiefs do not have any injury concerns for their starters but a couple of backups are questionable this week. Rookie RB Cyrus Gray (hamstring) and WR Terrance Copper (groin) were also to be limited on Monday. Crennel said that backup QB Brady Quinn would practice. Quinn injured his neck against Green Bay. 

The Chiefs will also be without LB Tamba Hali Sunday because of his one-game suspension for breaking the league's substance abuse policy. If Johnson and Flowers are not able to go, the Chiefs would be without their top three producers on defense from last season.

"You'd like to have all your guys all the time," Crennel said. "But in this business you don't have all of them all the time and so you have to depend on other guys to step up and do their part when they're called on."

Chiefs make practice squad move: The Chiefs released WR Junior Hemingway from the practice squad to make room for offensive lineman Rich Ranglin, who was cut from the team on Friday.

Crennel said the team made the move to make it easier to practice. The Chiefs have plenty of depth at receiver, but they kept only two backup offensive linemen -- rookies Donald Stephenson and Jeff Allen -- on the 53-man roster. Ranglin will be the second offensive lineman on the practice squad, joining C Lucas Patterson.

Follow Chiefs reporter C.J. Moore on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLKC and @cjmoore4.