The Kansas City Chiefs have been without their starting right tackle, Mitchell Schwartz, since Week 7 of the 2020 NFL season. The All-Pro right tackle has missed the first games of his career this year as he deals with a nagging back injury — an injury that ultimately caused him to be placed on injured reserve.
Schwartz was officially placed on injured reserve ahead of Week 11, making him eligible to return to action in Week 14. When asked about the plan for Schwartz moving forward, Reid wouldn’t commit to the tackle making a return prior to the postseason. He says the team and Schwartz will take their time in determining the best course of action moving forward.
“Yeah, we’ll just see. Listen, he’s a smart kid and so he’s been around a long time and he knows how he’s feeling,” Reid said. “And he’s a good communicator, so he keeps that open with the trainers and doctors, so I think that’s the most important thing right now. Then, when he’s right, then we’ll get him back out there. But until then—we do that with every player—we’re not going to rush him back if he can’t go, and that’s why we expect the next guy to step in and play, and (Mike) Remmers is doing a nice job for us. He’s really stepped up and played well. But that’s kind of how we go. We have a lot of trust in Mitch and we know he’s a tough guy, and he’s a good communicator on top of that.”
It doesn’t sound like Reid is expecting Schwartz to be available any time soon. The good news is that the replacement for Schwartz, veteran OL Mike Remmers, has played admirably at right tackle. He hasn’t allowed a single sack of Patrick Mahomes all year. He’s also allowed just 11 pressures at right tackle while filling in for Schwartz, ranking No. 20 in the NFL in pressures allowed according to Pro Football Focus.
The play of Remmers has given the Chiefs the benefit of getting Schwartz 100% healthy in his return. They want him to get back to being his stalwart self when he finally gets back on the field. Until then, Remmers will be the guy for Kansas City.
