Eric Fisher injury update: Chiefs tackle is questionable for Raiders game
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs are dealing with a new injury to left tackle Eric Fisher as they prepare to head to Oakland to face the Raiders in Week 2.
The Kansas City Chiefs received some troubling news in practice on Friday with word that starting left tackle Eric Fisher suffered a groin injury, per head coach Andy Reid.
The Chiefs are preparing to leave for Oakland to face the Raiders in the team’s first divisional contest of the season, one week after opening with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, also a road game. Matt Derrick reports that Fisher is officially listed as “questionable” for the game.
At this point, the severity of the injury is not known. The last time Eric Fisher missed a game for the Chiefs was back in 2013, his rookie year in which he was the team’s No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft out of Central Michigan. Even that season he appeared in 14 games, and he’s had the left side of the Chiefs offensive line locked down ever since.
Fisher’s potential absence certainly makes the team’s offensive situation a bit more tenuous. The left tackle is key to protecting Patrick Mahomes as the quarterback, and Mahomes himself took several big hits last week against the Jaguars and even came up limping with a sore ankle in the first quarter. He played the rest of the game with it taped up and he was limited early in the week in practice due to swelling. That’s a problem that could linger if defenses are able to get to him faster.
In addition, the Chiefs are also missing Tyreek Hill on offense as he recovers from a sternoclavicular dislocation. That means Mahomes could be missing his top target and his primary protector, which begins to alter what the Chiefs can do offensively.
The Chiefs aren’t exactly loaded with talent at swing tackle. While the interior line has plenty of help, including veteran assets like Jeff Allen in place, the options behind Fisher don’t look great. Martinas Rankin just came over from the Houston Texans in the Carlos Hyde trade but that would mean a very quick installation for a developmental player. Ryan Hunter is also a candidate as is Cameron Erving, but again, no one is going to be confident in either of those choices at this stage.
Here’s hoping the injury is nothing serious and that Fisher can make the start on Sunday afternoon.