Chiefs place Byron Pringle on injured reserve

The Chiefs placed wide receiver Byron Pringle on IR on Tuesday.

The Kansas City Chiefs have placed wide receiver Byron Pringle on injured reserve as of Tuesday, per NFL reporter Field Yates.

Pringle suffered an ankle injury during the team’s comeback win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night in primetime and was designated as questionable to return following his exit. Clearly he’s going to need some time as the Chiefs have now cleared roster space with his placement on injured reserve.

Pringle, who recently turned 27 years old, is an integral part of the Chiefs special teams units under Dave Toub as both a primary kick returner and in coverage units—a core four performer. In addition, he’s been a reliable receiver on offense for quarterback Patrick Mahomes at times, despite the lack of consistent targets. He had three catches for 17 yards on Sunday in the team’s 35-31 win in Las Vegas.

A former Kansas State product, Pringle was able to turn Brett Veach’s head enough in the pre-draft season before the 2018 NFL Draft in order to earn an invite to sign as a rookie free agent. From there, he looked solid during the team’s preseason practices and games but an injury shortly before the regular season sidelined him for the year.

In 2019, Pringle made the team again and played in all 16 games. He caught 12 passes for 170 yards and 1 touchdown last year in the team’s Super Bowl run, their first in 50 seasons. This year, he returned again for the Chiefs in these underappreciated yet pivotal roles on offense and special teams but now the Chiefs will have to find ways to work around the loss.

Pringle has 9 catches for 108 yards in 10 games in 2020.