That the Kansas City Chiefs have an odd way of handling the offensive backfield is nothing new. The team has employed the least dynamic corps of running backs for multiple seasons now, even as they were chasing championships. In a year in which they were made to pay for those mistakes, however, the way things unfold at the position is truly baffling.
It's not as if more examples were needed, but the Chiefs seem hell-bent on making everyone as upset as possible at the way they proceed at running back. Former Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce is just the latest victim in a long line of inept roster choices and maddening player usage.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked about the possibility of Pierce getting into the offensive mix in Week 18. The Chiefs visit the Raiders to close out a miserable season, one in which they're nearly guaranteed to pick in the top ten of the NFL Draft with the postseason long out of reach. Yet somehow, even with nothing on the line in terms of playoff positioning or meaningful shifts in the standings, Reid still was non-committal about Pierce's playing time.
“We’ll see how it goes," said Reid. "He’ll be in there. He’ll practice, and he’s been doing that gradually, working him in, making sure he’s comfortable with what we’re doing. I mean, there’s a chance that he’d have a chance to get up there. But I gotta see that as we go here, see how he does with the rest of the practices here.”
Andy Reid's latest press conference only further muddies things for Dameon Pierce
What does this even mean? It's a word salad that says a guy who has been around for well over a month has a chance of having a chance of playing at a pitiful position? Is that really where the Chief are at with this guy?
Pierce signed with the Chiefs in late November, shortly after the team put together a much-needed victory over the Indianapolis Colts to (temporarily) save the season. That was Week 12. The Chiefs were heading into a short week against the Dallas Cowboys for a Thanksgiving Day showdown, so it made sense to hold Pierce out in Week 13. But with extra time before Week 14, a game against Pierce's former employer, the concerns began to surface when the Chiefs refused to play Pierce against the Texans.
From there, the picture has only grown murkier—and it was never clear to begin with. Pierce has yet to play in a single game for the Chiefs at a postion where the results are below average on a good day. Isiah Pacheco is the worst lead back in the NFL. Kareem Hunt is an effective short-yardage weapon who shouldn't be tasked with more than that. Brashard Smith is a promising rookie who has still struggled to earn playing time. As we said, the examples are plentiful.
The Chiefs even held Elijah Mitchell captive all season long as a healthy scratch who had plenty of playing time incentives on his one-year deal, only to sit as an inactive player in nearly every game. With the close of the season drawing near, the Chiefs finally cut him loose (and he quickly signed with the New England Patriots) after bringing in Pierce, but nothing has changed in terms of snap distribution.
The only thing to play for is the future, and yet somehow Pierce is being treated the way he is. It makes no sense, at least from the outside. If Pierce was the anomaly here, then it'd be easy to pin the blame on the running back, but the history at the position makes it an obvious organizational concern.