Joe McKnight Latest Chiefs Player To Rupture Achilles

Not since the Iliad has an achilles been so known to a single nation. Joe McKnight, a former Trojan coincidently, ruptured his achilles in practice yesterday while running a passing route. The injured was on a non-contact play.

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McKnight is the third Kansas City Chiefs football player to rupture his achilles this season, joining Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito on the list of epic tragedies. A two touchdown performance, the first two of his career, makes the injury to McKnight that much more tragic. Kansas City still has Jamaal Charles, Knile Davis, De’Anthony Thomas, and Cyrus Gray on the roster though both Charles and Thomas are recovering from their own injuries.

Hercules cannot be blamed for the Chiefs rash of achilles injuries, which makes understanding why this is happening to the Chiefs that much more difficult. All three situations have been different. Johnson was moving laterally in zone coverage and was not contacted when his achilles gave out against the Titans (of course). Mike DeVito was is the middle of a scrum on the defensive line when his achilles gave out. McKnight was running a passing route when his achilles gave.

Their physical conditions were also all different. Johnson has spent the last few seasons progressively shaving off five pounds of body weight to help him maintain his quickness and flexibility. DeVito was adding weight in an effort to become a more aggressive pass rusher. McKnight had his knee scoped in the summer and was spending time trying to rehab his knee back into shape. Additionally, McKnight’s injury happened on the practice filed in non-game conditions while the other two happened in the middle of a regular season game.

Current medical science does not have an agreement on what is causing the increase in achilles injuries or what is the appropriate way to prevent them. As a result it is hard to blame the Chiefs and their medical staff for what is going on with their players. Good news is the surgeries to fix these injuries are progressing quickly and there is good reason to think all three players can recover and return to their same level of play.

But until the Chiefs can find a solution to their achilles problem, they may want to consider avoiding advice from Homer epics for a while.