Returning KC Chiefs who will make an impact down the stretch
By Matt Conner
Martinas Rankin
General managers around the NFL were likely racing to make any last-minute deals with former Houston Texans general manager/head coach Bill O’Brien before he was fired. The reason being that he was fleeced on the regular. For the Chiefs, their own deal delivered promising offensive lineman Martinas Rankin in exchange for veteran running back Carlos Hyde.
The Chiefs added Rankin via preseason trade shortly before the 2019 season began and took to him immediately. Rankin started five games for the Chiefs at left guard before a knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the year. Coming off of that, the Chiefs would have likely looked to Rankin to start again in the wake of opt outs by Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Lucas Niang, but the patella injury wasn’t yet healed.
The former third round pick has plenty of promise even still, and fortunately he should return at some point soon. After starting the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, Andy Reid stated that he’s working his way back in comments after Week 6. Rankin has a six-week window within which he can return to practice and the active roster (otherwise the Chiefs have to place him on IR for the season). There’s still quite a bit of time here to wait and see, but a good bet would be on Rankin to return for the stretch run of the regular season.