The 2025 season was a disaster for the Kansas City Chiefs, but the team’s culture showed up in a big way as everyone went down swinging. While it would’ve been easy for players to pack it in during the underwhelming season, many players fought through their own individual battles to show up for the team.
One of those players was veteran defensive lineman George Karlaftis. The defensive end didn’t have the kind of year he wanted in 2025, and a big reason why could be what the team revealed on Wednesday. Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen told the media that Karlaftis played through a broken hand last season.
Cullen made sure to emphasize that the injury occurred to the defender’s power hand, and that Karlaftis also had surgery on the hand during Kansas City’s Week 10 bye.
George Karlaftis played through a broken hand in 2025
It was reported during the season that Karlaftis was dealing with a hand injury, but the team never specified that the hand was broken or that he had surgery. Karlaftis did play some games with a heavy cast on his hand, battling through his injury to still play in 16 of the team’s 17 games.
Based on the team’s reporting during the season, the injury happened in Week 9, and Karlaftis got the surgery the next week while the team was on a bye. He played seven more games after that, recording just one sack, 16 total tackles, and three tackles for a loss.
While his production was heavily criticized, the injury could’ve played a big part in his numbers — especially when you consider how important hands are for a defensive lineman. In the nine games prior to the injury, Karlaftis posted five sacks, 32 tackles, and seven tackles for a loss.
The injury was definitely a turning point in his production, so Karlaftis should at least be respected for trying to give his all even when he wasn’t at his best. Now, the defender is healthy and the injury is behind him. Hopefully that will be reflected in his play in 2026.
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