The Kansas City Chiefs preseason schedule will conclude this Saturday after their home matchup against the Cleveland Browns. The Chiefs will look for which players will make the final cuts and determine if proven starters are ready for another Super Bowl run.
Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is charged with making sure the unit maintains the dominance it exhibited last season. A significant part of that chemistry is running back Isiah Pacheco, who continues to recover from off-season surgery. Pacheco’s status for this weekend hasn’t been determined, and Nagy told reporters Tuesday his hopes for the expected starting halfback.
“In the end, when Coach (Andy Reid) gets together with us and talks through all the depth chart stuff,” Nagy explained. “Who’s playing, who’s not playing, who’s doing this, who’s doing that? I think the guys would tell you, Pacheco would probably tell you, it’s important to get hit a few times. And so, there’s always you want to make sure that, you know, for him not being hit yet in practice, per se.
“Going in there for the first time, I think, I mean, we’ve all seen him get hit pretty good. I think he can handle several hits. So whatever coach (Andy Reid) ends up doing, it doesn’t affect him really either way for week one. But I always think it’s good to get a couple of hits early before you get to the season.”
Pacheco has continued to participate in drills during practices and remains ready whenever his number is called to play. If he does play on Saturday, it will be a relief for the second-year running back and the coaching staff.