How the Chiefs weather rash of injuries could make the difference in three-peat bid

By / / Sports / 8 minutes of reading


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has received several phone calls this season from coach Andy Reid, general manager Brett Veach or someone else in the football operation.

Many of those calls have been about a player injury, some significant enough that it creates a discussion about what the team should do next.

During the Chiefs’ pursuit of an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl victory, Hunt, Reid and Veach have had to add veteran newcomers, sign off on an unplanned reunion with running back Kareem Hunt and find solutions to strengthen weaker areas of the roster more than ever before during the franchise’s dynastic run, which began in 2018, quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ first year as a starter.

“We have to play better and we’re going to need a little luck in the health department,” Veach said earlier this month. “That’s one thing that is different than those other years where — I mean, you’re going to have injuries every year — but we avoided (a lot of) season-enders.”

Injury luck has yet to arrive for the Chiefs. Since Veach spoke with reporters in early November, the Chiefs have signed three more players — kicker Spencer Shrader, left tackle D.J. Humphries and kicker Matthew Wright.

A year ago, when they became the NFL’s first back-to-back champion in two decades, the Chiefs had 65 players who played at least one snap, according to Next Gen Stats. This season, before Thanksgiving Day and a Black Friday divisional game against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs already have used 61 players on their way to a 10-1 start.

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Entering Wednesday, the Chiefs had just $3.18 million in effective salary-cap space, the fourth least in the league, according to Over the Cap.

“He understands what we’re trying to do,” a team source said of Clark Hunt. “He’s been great and he understands the salary cap and our future, for this year and the next.”

After the Chiefs’ last-second win Sunday over the Carolina Panthers, Hunt sat inside the visitors’ interview room at Bank of America Stadium. He watched the postgame news conferences for Reid, Mahomes, tight end Noah Gray and Shrader, who made the game-winning 31-yard field goal in just his second game with the Chiefs. When Shrader left the podium, Hunt congratulated him on his perfect day — 3 for 3 on field goals and 3 for 3 on extra points.

The next day, Hunt was informed that Shrader — who joined the Chiefs just 11 days earlier because of Harrison Butker’s left knee injury — injured his right hamstring during a workout at the Chiefs’ training facility. With Shrader expected to miss Friday’s game against the Raiders, the Chiefs began their practice Tuesday with new kicker Matthew Wright, who last played for the franchise in 2022.

Across the field from Wright was Humphries, who was about to participate in his first practice as a Chief. Humphries, an eight-year veteran, stretched alongside second-year left tackle Wanya Morris and rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia, the two players he is expected to start ahead of during the final stretch of the season.

In a close decision, according to a team source, the Chiefs chose to sign Humphries, 30, over Donovan Smith, 31, who was the starter last season. Humphries will make $2 million for the rest of the season with a maximum value of $4.5 million, according to the source. A Pro Bowler in 2021 with the Arizona Cardinals, Humphries had been unsigned this season while recovering from a torn ACL.

“With any player that comes off an injury, or comes to a new team on top of that, it’s going to take some time,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said of Humphries.

The Chiefs hope Humphries will be ready to make his first start against the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 8 or against the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 15.

The Chiefs felt they needed to sign Humphries to protect themselves further in case Morris, who has played through pain in his right knee the past several weeks, misses time the rest of the season.

“We’ve played a lot of close games, and all these games down the stretch are going to be super tough for us,” Veach said. “We’re aware of that. We’re going to try to find ways to manufacture wins. But all those things kind of lead into some hodgepodge offensive play at times. It’s hard to account for losing a guy like (receiver) Rashee (Rice).”

Or running back Isiah Pacheco (right leg). Or receiver Marquise Brown (left shoulder). Or tight ends Jody Fortson (torn right ACL), Peyton Hendershot (calf) and Jared Wiley (torn right ACL).

The Chiefs, though, are hopeful that their offense will get some good news this week. Pacheco, who has been out since Week 2, on Tuesday was a full participant in practice for the first time since the Chiefs opened his 21-day practice window. He could play a limited number of snaps against the Raiders alongside Hunt.

“Kareem has been asked to do a lot here in a short amount of time,” Veach said. “Having 25 carries a game for a guy that’s almost 30 is a lot. Hopefully having Pacheco back will be a big difference.”

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According to multiple sources, the Chiefs are optimistic that Brown will rejoin his teammates on the practice fields in mid-December.

Brown, Kansas City’s biggest acquisition in free agency, suffered a dislocated collarbone on the opening snap of the preseason. A month later, Brown needed surgery to repair a dislocated SC joint, extending his rehab. While the Chiefs practiced outside Tuesday, Brown posted a video on his Instagram account of him making one-handed catches off the JUGS machine on the team’s indoor practice field.

Without Brown, the Chiefs have been able to get quality production from newcomers such as Hunt, receiver DeAndre Hopkins and running back Samaje Perine.

“You would think it would be a different challenge, but with the guys the coaches (and personnel staff) have brought in, the guys understand that this is how we work, practice and how we get after it on a day-to-day basis,” Mahomes said Tuesday. “We’re probably in the building more than a lot of teams. We’re probably on the practice field more than a lot of teams, but it’s a standard that we’ve upheld.”

Earlier this month, at the NFL trade deadline, the Chiefs tried to acquire veteran cornerback Marshon Lattimore from the New Orleans Saints. The Chiefs were interested in having him replace cornerback Jaylen Watson, the third-year player who sustained a significant left ankle injury in Week 7.

The Saints, however, traded Lattimore and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick to the Washington Commanders for 2025 third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks.

“We understood a (2025 third-round pick) might be involved, but we had to retain some (future picks),” Veach said. “We approached New Orleans and wanted to do some different pick-swap ideas.”

But the Chiefs couldn’t beat what the Commanders were offering.

“If that was last year, we wouldn’t have made that call,” Veach said. “But there was a sense of, ‘Hey, if we can do this and not mortgage our future completely, then let’s try it.’”

The Chiefs’ secondary has struggled since Watson’s injury. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Bills and the Panthers have exploited the inexperience of cornerbacks Nazeeh Johnson, Chamarri Conner and Chris Roland-Wallace. Since Week 8, opponents’ expected points added per dropback against the Chiefs has been 0.20, which is the 27th worst in the NFL.

“In this league, nobody is playing games completely healthy,” linebacker Nick Bolton said Monday. “In the past few years, we’ve been a little bit more fortunate. … It’s going to take everybody.”

The lone defender expected to return from an injury is defensive end Charles Omenihu, who will have the burden of boosting the Chiefs’ pass rush despite having sustained a torn ACL in his right knee in late January.

Like Pacheco, Omenihu was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice, a first since the Chiefs opened his 21-day practice window.

“What you don’t want to do is throw someone out there too quickly with too many (snaps) and something goes sideways from a physical standpoint,” defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said of Omenihu. “Hopefully, we can get some snaps out of him (Friday).”

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Last season, Omenihu had seven sacks, 11 quarterback hits and two forced fumbles in 11 games. He created a pivotal strip-sack in the AFC Championship Game victory over the Baltimore Ravens before his injury.

The Chiefs hope that Omenihu and defensive end Joshua Uche, acquired in a late-October trade, can enhance their pass-rushing production, especially in the postseason. The ideal four-man rush for Spagnuolo on third down could be a lineup of defensive tackle Chris Jones, defensive end George Karlaftis, Omenihu and Uche.

Entering Friday’s game, the Chiefs rank 26th in the league with 21 sacks.

“It’ll be huge, just for us and for him, just from a morale standpoint,” Bolton said of Omenihu possibly playing on Friday. “He’s a great (pass) rusher and we could definitely use that right now, especially with guys going in and out of the lineup and guys being banged up.

“He also just brings some charisma and some energy. He definitely brings that energetic style to our side of the ball.”

(Photo of Rashee Rice: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)





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Miranda Washington is the newest member of our news writing team, and she's already making waves. In addition to being a writer, Miranda also has a passion for photography and art. She loves to travel and experience new places, both near and far, whether through her camera lens or in person.

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