KC Chiefs news: Eric Fisher could be back by mid-August

Those outside of Arrowhead Stadium would have never believed that the K.C. Chiefs could count on left tackle Eric Fisher for much of anything in the 2021 NFL season, at least in the first half. However, the latest comments from general manager Brett Veach make it clear that the franchise has put an exciting and heartening timeline on his return from an unfortunate Achilles injury. It’s a timeline that could have him ready to play for the Chiefs from the first week of the regular season.

On Monday, Veach answered a number of questions from reporters and Fisher was a major subject of discussion. In the conversation, he stated that the Chiefs have a mid-August return date internally, so they’re expecting him to return at some point in training camp which could give him a couple weeks to get back into game shape for the season.

Fisher initially went down with an Achilles injury late in the team’s win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship. From there, it looked as if the injury would keep him out for a considerable amount of time. Given the need to also get into shape enough to play meaningful snaps, it became a common sentiment that the Chiefs might be forced to move on from Fisher or at least be prepared to live life without him along the offensive front for next season.

K.C. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach says left tackle Eric Fisher is expected back by mid-August.

If Fisher is able to come back along with Mitchell Schwartz, which was also a part of Veach’s comments that the team’s longtime right tackle would be back by training camp, then the Chiefs offensive line woes could be overstated quite a bit in terms of need. That’s not the say the team won’t address the line, because certainly it would be reckless to assume every injury will turn out okay and that the timeline will be accurate. However, it removes the urgency attached to the greater fears about the injuries to both Fisher and Schwartz.

Fisher has been the team’s starting left tackle for the last eight seasons after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. Just last season, Fisher made his second Pro Bowl and to go down with such a serious injury just before playing in another Super Bowl was a major loss for both player and team.