Dontari Poe lost weight this summer

Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Dontari Poe is back in action, after having to sit out all of training camp and the four preseason games following back surgery. While he was recuperating, Poe apparently lost a bit of weight at the encouragment of his mother, who wanted to see her boy eat better, according to Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star.

"“That’s because I was sitting down for a month and I didn’t want to be eating and come back at 400 pounds,” Poe said of his weight loss. “I just decided to put it in my head to eat right. Really, my mom got me hip to it … to just kind of eat right, take care of your body more. That’s just how it happened.”"

While Poe is still a monster in the middle, inside linebacker Derrick Johnson was disappointed to hear that Poe was slimming down to a trim figure, per Paylor’s piece.

"“I was smiling big,” Johnson said. “And he told me he was down to like 330, 335 (pounds). I said ‘Man, you’ve got to get back up to 345 (pounds) man, take some blockers on for me.’“He’s one of the best nose tackles back in this game and to have him back means a lot for an inside ’backer and means I’m going to be a little bit more free, so that’s always good.”"

It remains unclear if Poe will be ready to play Week 1. He has practiced in pads on both Wednesday and Thursday and maintains that he feels healthy, so the arrow is pointing up. Whether or not Poe can actually get on the field after only one week of practice remains to be seen, though, and if he can’t, Jaye Howard is his primary backup.

“That was pretty much positivity I was putting in my own head,” Poe said. “I just played the confident role and felt like if I did what I had to do, I’d be ready to go.”