The Kansas City Chiefs have placed fullback/tight end John Lovett on injured reserve, ending his season and giving the team another roster spot.
The Kansas City Chiefs have officially placed John Lovett on injured reserve on Tuesday, opening up an immediate roster spot with which to sign quarterback Matt Moore.
Lovett came to the Chiefs this spring as a rookie free agent out of Princeton and was one of the single most intriguing prospects (or even projects) to join the franchise. Lovett was a former quarterback for the Tigers who projected as a do-it-all at the next level, a sort of offensive catch-all who could play both h-back and tight end.
Lovett looked the part early on with the Chiefs in offseason training activities and earned praise from coaches and local media for his work ethic, toughness, intelligence and obvious talent. He was even in the running to help the Chiefs move on from Demetrius Harris at backup tight end, although other candidates there were also in play (Deon Yelder, Blake Bell, David Wells, Nick Keizer).
Unfortunately for Lovett, he suffered a separated shoulder in the team’s first preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Lovett has been unable to practice ever since. Finally the Chiefs decided to go ahead and place him on injured reserve, a move that ends his season prematurely but does allow him to stay on the team’s roster for the full year while learning the playbook and growing with the team’s training and coach staffs.
Moore was signed to replace Chad Henne on the team’s roster. Henne was set to undergo surgery for an ankle fracture that will keep him out for an undefined period of time. Moore will occupy Lovett’s spot for now, but Henne will eventually give way to another opening although the Chiefs, and every NFL team, will have to eventually drop down to only 53 players on the roster in a week’s time.