Former Bears defensive end Chuck Harris works out for Kansas City Chiefs

After seeing starting defensive end Alex Okafor go down with a hip injury on Sunday, Kansas City brought in a former Chicago Bear for a workout.

During Sunday’s 34-30 victory against the previously unbeaten Detroit Lions, the Kansas City Chiefs saw a couple of players go down with injury. Perhaps most notably, was the hip injury to starting defensive end Alex Okafor.

While we have no official update on Okafor at this point, Reid did state immediately after the game in remarks to reporters that he didn’t believe Okafor’s injury was anything serious. Despite his optimism, the reality is that the Chiefs seem to be checking out options in case the worst case scenario plays out. General manager Brett Veach was at least kicking the tires on a potential backup plan on Monday.

Chuck Harris was an undrafted free agent who signed with Chicago after this year’s NFL Draft. The Bears kept the former Buffalo Bulls defender through the end of the preseason, but ultimately cut him in their final roster cutdown in August.

While drafted and signed as an outside linebacker in Chicago’s 3-4 defense, Harris’ 6-4, 265 pound frame (at draft time) could be a potential fit in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive rotation on the outside. He had 6.5 sacks last season in the MAC, but it remains to be seen how he might play as a bigger end. That said, he was a newcomer to football only 3 years before suiting up to play in college, which means he’s still a work in progress as a developmental pass rusher—one with intriguing burst and strength.

No word on a signing yet, but obviously if Kansas City makes the move to sign Harris, it likely means that Okafor could see an extended stay on the injury report. This would be a tough blow for a Kansas City that has struggled against the run the last two weeks, and struggled to generate consistent pass rush all season. Okafor has been one of the more effective front seven players so far this season.