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The Kansas City Chiefs made a pair of roster moves on Monday. Following the report that offensive lineman Martinas Rankin suffered a season-ending knee injury, we now have some clarity on that situation. According to the NFL’s transaction report, the team has opted to place Rankin on the injured reserve list.
Rankin joined the Chiefs this season in a trade that sent running back Carlos Hyde to the Texans. He’d been starting at left guard since Week 6 after Andrew Wylie suffered an ankle sprain. The move to place Rankin on IR suggests his season is over.
In a corresponding move, the Chiefs have signed a rookie offensive tackle from the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad. Jackson Barton was a seventh-round draft pick by Indianapolis out of Utah. His brother Cody plays linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. Jackson was making well over the weekly minimum on the practice squad, with the Colts shelling out $20,000 a week to keep him there. That alone shows you what they thought of him.
Barton didn’t make the 53-man roster out of the preseason and spent the first 10 weeks of the season on the Indianapolis practice squad. At 6 feet 7 and 302 pounds, Barton is a big body that is better suited playing tackle than he is in the offensive interior. He has experience playing both left and right tackle.
Given the injury concerns for the Chiefs, Barton might have to get up to speed quickly. Eric Fisher has been out recovering from a groin injury, and Mitchell Schwartz was dinged up in Week 10. If Barton fills a similar role to Rankin in Kansas City, expect him to be listed on the depth chart as the backup right tackle with the ability to fill in at other spots as well.