The Kansas City Chiefs have made two roster moves on Saturday, officially activating a player from injured reserve, while sending another to injured reserve.
Former 2019 third-round draft pick, DT Khalen Saunders, returned to practice on Wednesday. He was also designated to return from injured reserve, so we had an idea that this move was coming. NFL teams are permitted to bring back an unlimited number of players from injured reserve this season.
Saunders suffered a dislocated elbow during the Week 1 win over the Houston Texans. He missed about a month with his injury, which was right around the projected timeline for his recovery.
It wasn’t clear if Saunders would make his return this week. It appears that a good week of practice has the team confident in their decision to officially activate the athletic defensive tackle. He could prove to be important depth, with Chris Jones possibly playing double-duty, getting snaps at the injury-stressed defensive end position.
Danny Isidora and Marcus Kemp have been moved to the active roster from the practice squad.
Khalen Saunders has been activated from injured reserve.Alex Okafor has been placed on injured reserve.
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 24, 2020
In a corresponding move, the Chiefs sent oft-injured DE Alex Okafor to injured reserve. Okafor suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1 of the 2020 season, knocking him out for several games. Okafor injured his other hamstring in Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills. Okafor has played in just 14-of-26 possible games since his arrival in Kansas City in 2019.
In addition to these two moves, the Chiefs also elevated a pair of practice squad players to the roster.
An optional move that the team didn’t make this week was to activate OT Martinas Rankin from the PUP list. Rankin also returned to practice on Wednesday, opening up a 21-day practice window during which Kansas City must decide if they’ll bring him back or place him on season-ending injured reserve. We’ll find out if he’s any closer to making his return next week.
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