Prince Tega Wanogho could return to give Chiefs some help at tackle

The Kansas City Chiefs have been dealing with a significant number of injuries at offensive tackle for the duration of the 2023 campaign, and the fact that they're still operating this late in the postseason is a testament to the work of general manager Brett Veach to carry so much quality depth. Fortunately, as players get healthy, the Chiefs might be looking as good as ever at the position.

The Chiefs have officially designated Prince Tega Wanogho to return to practice, activating a 21-day window for him to return to the roster.

From a neck injury that kept Donovan Smith out for most of the season's second half to a concussion in recent weeks for rookie tackle Wanya Morris, the Chiefs have been forced to interchange parts on the fly to block for Patrick Mahomes. Another injury that made things difficult was the placement of Prince Tega Wanogho on injured reserve with a quad injury back in late September.

The OT has missed most of this season on injured reserve after looking good early in 2023.

In case you forgot, Wanogho won the swing tackle role for the Chiefs out of training camp this year as the Chiefs imported new veteran starters in Smith and Jawaan Taylor in free agency. Instead of being spelled by Morris, who was a third-round choice in the 2023 NFL Draft or even Lucas Niang, who was also a former Day 2 pick, the Chiefs went with Wanogho at the first sign of trouble at the bookend roles.

It's quite possible, had he stayed healthy, that Wanogho could have been a major storyline for the Chiefs this year if given significant playing time. Instead it was Morris who largely enjoyed the chance to show off what he could do until a recent head injury robbed him of postseason reps.

Back to Wanogho, a former sixth-round selection of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2020 NFL Draft who was always a long-term project at the NFL level. He lasted one year in Philly before signing a practice squad deal with the Chiefs in 2021 and he's slowly been developing under positional coach Andy Heck since that time.

At this point, Smith and Taylor are back in their starting roles, but Morris continues to deal with a head injury. It will be interesting to see what the Chiefs decide to do with Wanogho going forward.