When the Kansas City Chiefs kept 10 offensive linemen on the 53-man roster, there was an expectation that it wouldn’t be that way for long.
Both Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Austin Blythe were out for the majority of the preseason. Blythe played in preseason Week 1, but soon after had surgery to repair a sports hernia. Duvernay-Tardif didn’t play in any preseason games after breaking a bone in his hand during training camp.
With both players dealing with injuries, many thought one or both would be moved to the injured reserve (IR) list after 53-man roster cuts. Players can now return from IR after three weeks, so placing players on the list isn’t as restrictive as it once was. The team has yet to make any transactions involving Duvernay-Tardif and Blythe, however.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach spoke to the media on Wednesday, explaining that he expects that at least one of the two players will practice in some capacity this upcoming week.
“Yeah I think these guys are going to be good for Week 1,” Veach told reporters of LDT and Blythe on Wednesday. “This short-term IR is at least three weeks. . . I would anticipate both these guys getting out there and practicing this week. Maybe not much so Blythe, but I think Blythe may be only a week away. I think LDT will get out there and do some stuff this week and test that hand. I think both these guys should be shorter than the three weeks so it would make sense to just practice and see how they feel and get with Rick (Burkholder) and get with the coaches, see how they feel and make a decision based on that.”
Both players will get out to practice and have a chance to test their injuries before any decisions are made regarding the injured reserve list. The fact that they haven’t yet been placed on the list is a positive sign, but things can quickly change. Were either Duvernay-Tardif or Blythe to miss time, Veach feels confident that the rest of their depth will be capable of weathering the storm.
“I think the benefit of having 10 is we have some flexibility,” Veach explained. “So we have guys that can line up and play center like (Nick) Allegretti and Mike (Remmers) who can do both, (Andrew) Wylie can do guard. So, we have some flexibility in regard to our active game-day roster.”
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