After a week off for the bye week, the Kansas City Chiefs have sent a pair of players to the injured reserve list.
According to the NFL’s official personnel notice both RB Jerick McKinnon and DT Khalen Saunders have been placed on injured reserve. Their placement on the list seems to stem from injuries suffered during the course of the season.
McKinnon suffered a hamstring injury in the opening kickoff of the Week 11 game against the Dallas Cowboys. He was eventually ruled out of that game and was scheduled to have an MRI the following week. The results of that MRI were enough to land McKinnon on injured reserve. He’ll have to stay on the injured reserve list for a minimum of three weeks, missing the next three games against the Broncos, Raiders and Chargers before he can return.
As for Saunders, he’s been dealing with a knee injury suffered in Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans. He’s been assumed to be a healthy scratch during weeks 8 through 11, but it appears he’s actually been dealing with that injury as well. He’ll also spend a minimum of three weeks on the injured reserve list for Kansas City.
Both McKinnon and Saunders will be missed while they’re absent. McKinnon was especially starting to come on in pass protection for the team in recent weeks when Clyde Edwards-Helaire was absent.
The Chiefs needed to open up at least one roster space for the return of Kyle Long and Marcus Kemp, but these two transactions also mean that Kansas City should have an extra spot on the 53-man roster. This signals that the team could be preparing to activate OL Mike Remmers from injured reserve or rookie DE Joshua Kaindoh. It’s possible they open up the practice window for one of these players later in the week and see how they do before making their decision.
