Alex Okafor is recovering well from torn pectoral muscle

Brett Veach told reporters at the NFL Combine that Alex Okafor is progressing well in his recovery from a torn pectoral muscle.

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach updated reporters on a pair of injured players trying to make their way back successfully for the 2020 regular season, and it sounds like both safety Juan Thornhill and defensive end Alex Okafor are right on schedule.

Okafor suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 15 against the Denver Broncos, an injury that cost him the rest of the year for the Chiefs. To that point, Okafor had served as a starting end opposite Frank Clark that helped stabilize the front line for the Chiefs revamped defense. Unfortunately, he’d also missed time earlier in the season as well and finished with only 10 starts all year, including a missed postseason run.

“I don’t have a timeline, but I’ll definitely be ready by next season. I mean, I won’t have any setbacks,” said Okafor in a recent interview to promote his youth football camp.

Okafor signed a three-year deal with the Chiefs and it makes good sense for the Chiefs to set him back up as the starting defensive end opposite Frank Clark in the team’s base defense. Tanoh Kpassagnon is another option at defensive end, but the loss of Emmanuel Ogbah to free agency and the drama surrounding Chris Jones’ future make Okafor all the more important.

Okafor had 22 tackles and 5 sacks for the Chiefs last season, the most he’s had since 2014 when he put up 8 sacks.