One of the Kansas City Chiefs’ draft picks has been placed on the non-football injury list.
Many thought the 2020 NFL Draft was over for the Chiefs, but Brett Veach can’t resist a good trade. He moved up into the seventh round to select Tulane CB BoPete Keyes for their final pick of the draft.
On Sunday, according to the NFL’s official transaction report, the Chiefs placed Keyes on the active non-football injury list. The placement on this list means that Keyes sustained an injury away from the team and that he’ll have the opportunity to recover while he’s on the list. They also received a roster exemption for Keyes, which means that he won’t count toward the offseason roster, at least temporarily. Remember, the Chiefs have to trim the roster down to 80 players by August 16.
While we don’t know the exact nature of Keyes’ injury, we already know that he suffered an injury at Tulane that kept him from playing in their Armed Forces Bowl victory over Southern Mississippi. It also stopped him from participating fully in the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine as he only completed the vertical jump and broad jump competitions.
If Keyes remains on the active non-football injury list by the final roster cut date ahead of the season, the Chiefs can move him to the reserve non-football injury list. That means he wouldn’t count toward the 53-man roster in Kansas City. If he’s placed on the reserve non-football injury list, the rules are similar to the PUP list. Keyes wouldn’t be allowed to practice for six weeks and the team would eventually have to decide between activating him or placing him on the injured reserve list.
We’ll likely hear from Andy Reid later this week on Keyes’ injury and how long he’s expected to be out as training camp continues in Kansas City.
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