Shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs made a move to bolster the defensive end room, they've suffered an injury that brings the same cloud of concern over the team's group of edge rushers.
On Thursday, the final day of Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph, head coach Andy Reid finally provided more details to Ashton Gillotte's status. Specifically, he said the second-year defensive lineman has missed time due to a ruptured plantar fascia. Fans can see the play on which is happened in the post below, per Matt Foster.
Per Andy Reid, #Chiefs DE Ashton Gillotte suffered a ruptured plantar fascia on this play two days ago. pic.twitter.com/r82yk6a3To
— Matt Foster (@MattFosterTV) August 20, 2026
Despite the more severe-sounding nature of Gillotte's injury, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spoke to reporters and said all of the team's injuries can be categorized as "nicks and bruises," per Matt Derrick. Even so, the team has to start planning for the final 53-man roster within 10 days, and they host the Denver Broncos to start the season in just over three weeks. Is Gillotte really going to be ready at that point?
Gillotte was the Chiefs' third-round pick out of Louisville in the 2025 NFL Draft, part of an influx of young talent up front for K.C. in the last two draft classes. Gillotte teamed with Omarr Norman-Lott a year ago, followed up by consecutive picks of Peter Woods of Clemson and R Mason Thomas of Oklahoma from this year's draft class.
Ashton Gillotte suffered a ruptured plantar fascia during Chiefs practice on Tuesday.
The Chiefs were happy with the progression of Gillotte as his rookie campaign unfolded. He is a plus run defender who grew into a more well-rounded edge setter who played a majority of snaps by season's end. From Week1 to Week 11, Gillotte played an average of 39 percent of all defensive snaps compared to 58 percent from Week 12 on. By season's end, Gillotte won the Mack Lee Hill Award, given to the Chiefs' top rookie performer, with 38 total tackles, 10 pressures, 1 interception, and 1.5 sacks in 17 games.
Gillotte spoke earlier this spring about his frustrations from a year ago with the goal of getting better, and George Karlaftis spoke highly of his growth week after week. The Chiefs were counting on him to help hold down responsibilities opposite Karlaftis as Thomas grew into a greater role over time. The Chiefs also have Felix Anudike-Uzomah returning from a season lost to injury.
What helps to soften the blow is the recent signing of Emmanuel Ogbah, but that signing was intended to bolster the position with Gillotte as a readily available player, too. If Gillotte is forced to miss an actual game or more, the position looks incredibly thin and it stands to reason that another move would be made to further shore things up while Gillotte is healing.
For now, Chiefs fans can only hope that Reid's description of Gillotte's injury is correct. The head coach did say that he suffered the injury two days ago, which should have given the team's trainers time to gain some clarify on the severity of things. Perhaps Reid isn't just putting a positive spin on things, but no one wants to see the team rush Gillotte into action and make things worse for the long haul.
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