The Kansas City Chiefs are going to have their choice of injured players to bring back from IR for some late-season help on one side or the other.
Help is on the way for the Kansas City Chiefs.
A day after a primetime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Chiefs are heading into their bye week hoping for the relief that rest and relaxation brings. In the midst of rebounding from a 54-51 defeat, they’re also hoping to add some new bodies once they’re back for the stretch run in December.
First of all, the Chiefs will be getting back Eric Berry if the rumors are true about his timeline for returning to practice. The Chiefs are reportedly expecting Berry back in Week 13 or 14, which would be the first game after the bye against the Oakland Raiders if he comes back early.
Berry’s return alone would be welcome news for a defense that struggled against the L.A. Rams in Week 11, but the Chiefs are reportedly also deciding on another player to bring back from injured reserve. The choice, per Matt Derrick, is between two players: safety Armani Watts and offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
Watts would be a nice addition to the secondary, but it might be a bit much at this point given that Dan Sorensen also returned recently and Berry’s expected readiness. The impact at safety with Watts back might be minimal for the Chiefs, although giving Watts some late season reps wouldn’t hurt his development.
As for Duvernay-Tardif, the Chiefs have seen Andrew Wylie perform admirably in his absence, so it’s not as if anyone is clamoring for the Chiefs to replace him in the line-up. That said, Wylie might be able to slide over to left guard if the Chiefs think that would be a better fit. At the very least they would be better suited to handle further injuries.
The Chiefs don’t have to decide for a while, but it will be interesting to see if either player really is ready to come back after suffering a devastating injury. The Chiefs could use the depth in either spot.