Kelechi Osemele sits out Chiefs practice with shoulder injury

Offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele sat out Chiefs practice with a shoulder concern.

Every injury designation creates some level of concern. The one listed alongside offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele by the Kansas City Chiefs is especially disconcerting.

Osemele was listed among the injured players for the Chiefs who missed practice on Monday with a shoulder issue. Further details were not given at the time, but it’s fairly easy to connect the dots on the veteran’s guard recent health history and wonder if it’s the same shoulder that forced him to miss the bulk of the 2019 season with the New York Jets.

One month ago, the Chiefs signed Osemele to a one-year deal in the wake of news that starting right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif would be the first NFL player to opt out for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chiefs acted quickly to bring him in, and they were rewarded with a player who looked the part of a starter—so much so that the team installed him fairly quickly as the starting left guard in practice.

As recently as the 2017 season, Osemele was a Pro Bowl guard for consecutive seasons with the Oakland Raiders as part of that team’s heralded front line. Then came an injury-riddled 2018 season and the Raiders decided to trade him to the Jets given his expensive contract. With the Jets, a shoulder issue plagued him until he decided to have corrective surgery—a move the team was adamantly against. Osemele decided to have the surgery anyway and was lost for the season.

The Chiefs knew Osemele would be working to rehabilitate his shoulder post-surgery but so far there had been no stated concerns or injury issues that pointed to Osemele’s shoulder as an ongoing concern.

At this point, all that is known is that Osemele missed some practice time due to a shoulder concern. Is it a pressing concern? Is it even the same shoulder? Details aren’t known as of yet, but it’s going to be something to watch for sure.