The Chiefs will be without Kelechi Osemele for some time after he went down with torn tendons in both knees.
The Kansas City Chiefs will be smarting from their game against the Las Vegas Raiders for much longer than the next week. Not only did the team lose a shocking game to their division rivals, but they also lost starting guard Kelechi Osemele for the foreseeable future.
Osemele tore tendons in both knees, according to head coach Andy Reid, who gave injury updates to reporters after the game.
Kelechi Osemele tore tendons in both knees and Sammy Watkins hurt his hamstring, per Coach Reid.
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) October 11, 2020
Osemele left the game early in the first quarter while trying to hustle and block downfield for quarterback Patrick Mahomes who was scrambling for a short gain. Osemele went down on a non-contact play, and the Chiefs had to call a cart out to remove him from the field.
The Chiefs signed Osemele to a one-year deal shortly after losing Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who opted out for the year to help treat COVID-19 patients back at home in Montreal. While LDT was the starting right guard, the Chiefs moved Andrew Wylie to that spot and inserted Osemele as the new starting left guard between Eric Fisher and Austin Reiter. Now the Chiefs will have to reconfigure their line moving forward.
The Chiefs leaned on veteran Mike Remmers to fill in for Osemele in Week 5, but it’s possible the team could work with Martinas Rankin there once he’s back from injury. Wylie has also started there for long stretches in the past and could be moved if someone else was more comfortable on the right hand side. The Chiefs also have options like Nick Allegretti and Daniel Kilgore on the roster.