KC Chiefs: Lucas Niang injury could complicate things at right tackle

When Lucas Niang went down with a rib injury in the first half of the team’s most recent win in Week 9 over the Green Bay Packers, it was a frustrating turn for a player who has shown plenty of promise as a first-year starter at a difficult position. For the Kansas City Chiefs, it also created a complicated scenario for which there’s no easy answer—at least not without more information.

After Niang left the game, he was designated as questionable to return but he remained out for the rest of the contest. In his place, Andrew Wylie came in and took the rest of the game’s snaps at right tackle. After the game, head coach Andy Reid offered up very little in the way of details regarding Niang’s status.

"“As far as injuries go, really Lucas Niang is the only one,” Reid said. “He hurt his ribs there and had to come out. Andrew (Wylie) did a nice job of filling in for him on short notice there.”"

Niang began the year at the position as one of three rookies to occupy a starting role on the Chiefs’ rebuilt offensive line. He held down the spot for five games before a minor hamstring injury limited him enough for the Chiefs to go with Mike Remmers in Week 6. Remmers was the long-term fill-in last season when Mitchell Schwartz went down around the same time of year with a back injury, and the Chiefs did well to re-sign him in order to bolster security on the right side of the line.

The situation at right tackle could get ugly for the K.C. Chiefs.

At this point, here’s where the real questions or complications could start for the Chiefs. If Niang needs to sit out for a spell, the drop-off in talent could be considerable depending on who else is available or not.

Niang has looked solid and should be out there whenever he’s healthy. It’s the best for the team both in the short term and long term. Remmers, however, is a nice consolation prize there in case Niang cannot go. The problem is that Remmers lost his starting spot back to Niang because he injured his knee and hasn’t practiced since then. Remmers missed all last week and then sat as one of the team’s inactive players on Sunday.

The Chiefs haven’t given a timeline on Remmers, but sitting out of every practice isn’t a good sign. Then again, the team hasn’t placed him on injured reserve, so it seems safe to assume they don’t expect him to miss a third game (he’s already sat for two weeks).

If those two are unable to go, it’s frustrating that Kyle Long is still not ready to return from a preseason leg injury that has kept him on IR for the 2021 season to date. The Chiefs signed Long as a free agent out of retirement earlier this spring to compete at right guard or right tackle, and his availability would be a big boost at this stage. However, he remains out on IR and hasn’t even begun to practice for any future return date.

That leaves the Chiefs without many options going forward. Andrew Wylie is the obvious candidate since he just filled in, but he’s not a great tackle by any means and he was definitely the weakest link on Sunday. Wylie deserves a ton of credit for being such a capable interior blocker, but things are different outside.

The Chiefs are carrying offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho on the active roster as an inactive most weeks, meaning they like him as a prospect and believe he’d be taken if left on the practice squad. But is he ready for real action? Would the Chiefs be better off signing a quick veteran stopgap option? Then again, who would even fill those shoes at this point in the season?

Things could be just fine at right tackle if Lucas Niang wasn’t that hurt or Remmers is feeling better or Kyle Long is ready. It could also be disastrous outside if none of those are true. The Chiefs face Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue on Sunday as edge rushers employed by the Las Vegas Raiders.