Chiefs Hit by WAVE of Back Injuries - Chris Jones Added to the List

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1:29And welcome back to another episode of Chiefs Over Time. I'm Chris Clark from Chiefs Corner. He is Ryan Tracy from RGR Football. Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time, download the Game Time app, create it up and count, and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. We're going to talk about both lines because it is affecting both lines currently a little bit later in the show, but it sure seems like the chiefs have had a lot of back issues flare up this off season. It started with Drew Trankle, went to a lowly Gilman, then Josh Simmons, and now a new one with Chris Jones. Oh, mine just went. I'm having spasms right now. It's contagious. It seems like it's contagious on this roster, that's for sure. I think it is a good thing to report. I don't know that it necessarily reflects the truth of everybody's condition, because you're right. That is pretty strange thing to have passed around multiple position groups and that kind of thing. Chris Jones, I think he needed a day off. I didn't think he needed to practice today, so I don't think it's anything to be concerned

2:31about. Well, to be fair, they said the same thing about Josh Simmons a week ago when they said it's or two weeks ago when they said that they thought he'd be back. And it was more of a day-to-day thing. They said pretty much, Andrew said the exact same thing to Chris Jones. They think he'll be fine. It's not going to be an issue. Now the story has changed a little bit with Josh Simmons, and it sounds like they found something in the second look, and they've got to get that taken care of and fixed. So, timetable on when Simmons is going to be back becomes even more murky. Right, and that's where I'm sitting today. It's like, okay, great. You found something, quote unquote, but what does that mean to the timeline? What does that mean to the availability? I think that gives you maybe a little more stress about getting Josh onto the field on next almost 10 days from now. But that also tells you why there was this freaky 36 hours where they went and made multiple

3:31trades for multiple guys who had played left tackle. One has played in the league and has a little bit of experience, but has been competing at Gart. The other is a rookie, another UDFA that is a left tackle. So at least you have bodies to throw at it now. And that I think adds into the idea that maybe Andy Reed and Andy Hack wouldn't want to move Jalen Moore over there and let Benson and Moore both play. I didn't think Benson looked great at left, even in short duty. So that'd be really the only combination of them that I would go with. What do you think? Well, it's going to be curious, and we can talk about this a little bit more on the next segment when we start talking about the both lines thing, because it could affect both offense and defensive lines. The big question I have right now is, can you even get the people that you just traded for up and ready to go for a Broncos team who has one of the better defenses in the football in the national football league? And they have one of the scariest pass rushers in Nikbaniido.

4:33Luckily, it looks like they're probably not going to have their other pass rushers. So that helps a little bit or their other really good pass rusher. So that'll help a little bit. But you're still in a situation where you could be going into the Broncos game without you starting left tackle, and depending on what you decide to do it left tackle, maybe you're starting left tackle and you're right tackle. Yeah, it could be troublesome. I'm just double checking who that's going to be. It looks like Joan Ellis is probably going to be the guy that stands in for Cooper while he's out. Yeah, but it's not still, it's not the same pass rush that Cooper gets. So not at all. You can gain plan and work on that if you absolutely have to, if you have a backup in there. So I'm not as worried about that. But Nikbaniido is not going to be somebody that you want anybody really going against other than Josh Simmons. Right. He's the only tackle I'm comfortable with in that matchup. Right. And like unless you're going to go into this game and run the ball 40 times, which I can't see Kansas City doing.

5:36I'm not saying this shouldn't let's hope. I'm not saying they shouldn't because here's the reality. I mean, you look at it, you look at this schedule and we'll get into it a little bit more next week when we get into previewing the Denver game. And we're going to have a lot more time to talk about the Denver game than we will most games because of the fact that it's the first game of the season. And we get an extra day considering we won't be doing a preview show on Friday because it'll be a Monday night game. So when you look at this and you look at the setup of it, you look at the setup of the schedule, it would make a lot of sense for the cheese to consider going to a situation where they run the ball 40 times trying to win the game ugly that way against Denver and let my homes get some extra time to acclimate back into the system of 40s having to throw it 20 to 30 40 times the game. Yeah. The acclimation process is going to be really key here to getting both of these things sorted out. We'll be get back. We're going to talk about is there a worry for both the offensive and defensive line? That's coming up right after this. There are more live events that ever before we're seeing right now games, concerts, comedy

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8:45You can do it all by visiting fandall.com to get started. When you look at this game, it becomes a question of if you don't have Josh Simmons who becomes your left tackle. I don't know whether they're going to put more there. I really hope that they wouldn't put Benson there because that would be a struggle. Honestly, I think if I'm the Broncos, if Benson is playing, you're probably moving Benito to his side regardless of which side he's on. That's going to end up being the big question there. Then you look at it and it's like, okay, if Simmons doesn't play, which it's kind of sound like could be more and more of a realistic scenario with what we're hearing now, then who do you have as your left tackle? Can you get any of those other two guys that you've traded for up to speed for week one because they haven't practiced with this team at all? They have no chemistry. I mean, sure, you can learn line calls and all that.

9:48I get you can get there, but that's a lot to ask going into week one. It is. Could it be done probably, especially with somebody that has some experience which unfortunately leads to Joshua Zoodoo, who's really probably only there to back up on the interior, although he has played left tackle snaps in the league, maybe you could push him into it, but Diego Pound's is a rookie. Same situation as Benson literally same situation, both undrafted, both rookie tackles, both guys that had some deficits. Now the difference is Benson is still profiling like he did in college where he's got good strength, good power, upper body is an advantage, lower body is not. The opposite is true for Diego Pound's. He moves well, but is underpowered. And if there's two that you had to go with, I would still put, if you have to start a rookie

10:50UDFA, I would put the guy with better feet out on the left to protect Patrick's backside, but I would probably lean towards more no matter what. But here's the twist. Just a couple of practices this weekend today. Kingsley Sumatia couldn't even finish practice. Now that's supposedly just an illness. We'll see if he can practice Thursday like they're scheduled to. Well, and I guess I'm not going to worry about that because to me, illness says, yeah, he may miss this weekend next as long as it's not, I mean, unless it becomes something, you know, larger, which generally illnesses aren't, you have guys mispractice for illness all the time. So I'm trying not to wish anymore for any more things at that. But here's the other side of that. I at least feel more comfortable probably with their replacement for Kingsley Sumatia than I would Josh Simmons. So in that case, yeah, I mean, there's a little bit of a worry there, but it's a little different in my mind. Flip it over to the other side of the ball when you start talking about defense and you have a possibility of Chris Jones not playing.

11:51If there, if it becomes a bigger issue with his back, that is a huge loss that I don't know how Kansas City overcomes. Yeah, you have Peter Woods and he can step in there into the starting lineup, but Peter Woods isn't Chris Jones at this point in his career. And that's asking a lot to step into those shoes. It certainly is. And they're going to have to throw bodies at it. Obviously, they brought Eason onto the roster and they just got Marcus Harris back today, resigned off of a non-wavoured claim. You're going to have to pull him up like immediately, which is okay because he's been in camp and he's been in the rhythm. So at least it gives you those two guys. And on past rush downs, gives you a pair that have been playing together throughout the preseason. If it had to happen, which I don't buy, I think Chris is going to be fine. If it had to happen, at least you have that going for you that there's a lot of exposure playing together between Harris and Woods. Now if you had to compare the two, which one, which offense, which aligner you were concerned about offensive or defensive, obviously, it sounds offensive. It's not even close, right? No.

12:52I can overload a defense. I can send Armason out there with Felix and Carlopter. I don't care. I can make things happen on D. Do you have no substitute for an athlete at a left tackle? No. Well, I mean, it's not really a substitute, so to speak, but the only way that you can really do anything is you would have to change the way you're going to play offense. You'd have to probably go six offensive lineman. And even that is going to be ugly because the reality is is that you're going to be put, you'd be potentially putting somebody in that position to help that isn't used to playing that position anyway. And then you have somebody on the inside of them that's still not used. It's just, it's not a fun situation if you end up having to go that direction. And the other reality is when we talk about this, they don't have a blocking tight end. Like yeah, sure, Kelsey can block, but he's not a great blocker and they have nobody else that they can really use in that regard. They brought in a guy on the practice squad as a fullback. They can step in and do something, but I don't think you're going to want him to do that week one against the Broncos.

13:53The answer is run the ball. If you don't have Josh Simmons, you run the ball. Ken Walker earned his stripes week one in order to keep that to clean. And I wonder when you look at what was also said and speaking of running ball, when you look at what was also said, one of the things that they talked about in the press conference that we're going to talk a little bit more on the on the daily show on is, image Johnson is RB two because they saw something in past protection that they weren't expecting that they were going to be able to see. That's why he is where he is right now. He is RB two on this roster. And I also wonder when you look at this and you look at the thought process of having to run the ball, can you do it with both of those guys on the field at the same time to kind of adjust and make Denver have to do different things? Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah. I knew that's where you would go on that. I knew exactly how you feel on that. Let us know in the comments what you think. Let us know which line you were more worried about. That is going to be it for us today. Thank you all for listening and we will be back to talk to you more tomorrow.

14:54Hey, NFL fans, I'm Brian Peacock and that is Matt Williamson hosts of the NFL six pack part of the Lockdown podcast network. Your team every day NFL six pack brings you the latest NFL news and analysis and breaks down all of the weekly action. A six pack of takes daily on the playoff pushed in the 2025 season or if your team's in draft mode, yeah, we'll hit that too. All right here every day on the Lockdown podcast network, the NFL six pack subscribe on YouTube or everywhere you get your podcasts.