Health concerns for the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line have become something of an unwanted yearly tradition. One year ago at this time, the Chiefs were working on their fourth left tackle, and the 2025 season has forced numerous substitutes along the offensive front at the schedule's most pivotal juncture. It's somewhat fitting, then, that the injuries would just keep piling on.
The latest blow to the Chiefs offensive line is the news that tackle Wanya Morris is going to miss the rest of the season. The third-year lineman suffered a lower leg injury in Week 14's loss to the Houston Texans on the team's first offensive play. After the game, Reid admitted that it "did not look good", and reporter Adam Schefter has confirmation that Morris is out for the rest of 2025.
Morris was Kansas City's third-round choice in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma, and he served as the franchise's swing tackle for his first two years in the league. Given the number of injuries in that span, Morris was pressed into first-team reps early and often, having made 18 starts in his first two years.
Wanya Morris is now out for the year, which leaves the Chiefs in a very precarious position (to say the least) at tackle.
In 2025, however, Morris has fallen down the depth chart with the arrival of two new tackles this offseason. The draft choice of Josh Simmons in the first round and the signing of Jaylon Moore in free agency moved Morris out of an emergency role, which has stifled his playing time—or at least it should have, but the amount of injuries brought him back into the fold in Week 14.
The Chiefs were already missing Simmons, who is on injured reserve (wrist), along with right tackle Jawaan Taylor and right guard Trey Smith going into the game against Houston. Morris's injury only further decimates a tackle position that looks scarily thin going into a divisional showdown that the Chiefs simply must win to have even a glimmer of postseason hope.
The good news is that undrafted rookie Esa Pole looked good when pressed into a starting role on Sunday—one of the few bits of good news coming out of a tough conference loss. Pole will once again play a pivotal role while the Chiefs hope to at least get Taylor back from injury. If not, the tackle position will look worse than it has in a long time, which is saying something for this franchise.