Tag: Lucas Niang

WATCH: Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah ‘putting in work’ at camp

#Chiefs rookie Felix Anudike-Uzomah showed some great burst on this exceptional pass rush at Tuesday’s practice.

With only a couple of training camp practices left, Chiefs rookie defensive end Felix Anudike-Unomah (or “FAU”) has been grinding in preparation for his second NFL preseason game.

On Tuesday, the Chiefs shared a video of FAU on that grind, putting in work against offensive tackle Lucas Niang:

Though perhaps not an encouraging sign for the fourth-year veteran Niang to be beaten by a rookie, it’s a positive development for FAU to beat a veteran tackle in camp. That’s the nature of camp practices, though – good players make other good players better. Iron sharpens iron, so to speak.

Another encouraging sign is the fact that both of these two had solid games in the Chiefs’ Week 1 preseason loss against the New Orleans Saints. Niang didn’t allow any pressures in 15 snaps at right tackle, while FAU earned a tackle and three quarterback pressures on 34 snaps at defensive end.

It remains to be seen whether Niang makes the team and earns time as the Chiefs’ swing tackle during the regular season, and whether FAU earns significant (even starting) snaps at defensive end in the wake of Charles Omenihu’s six-game suspension to begin the season. The good thing is both players are trending in the right direction.

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8 Chiefs with something to prove in training camp Week 2

These eight #Chiefs have something to prove in Kansas City’s second week of training camp.

The Kansas City Chiefs face sky-high expectations ahead of the 2023 regular season, and preparations for their championship defense campaign have already begun in earnest at their training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri. While the Chiefs’ up-and-coming receiving corps has been the object of intense adulation at Missouri Western State University, players in other position groups are still trying to break through to secure themselves a spot on Kansas City’s final 53-man roster.

Here are eight Chiefs who have something to prove during Kansas City’s second week of training camp:

Chiefs GM Brett Veach evaluates right tackle situation ahead of 2023 NFL draft

#Chiefs GM Brett Veach shared his thoughts on the team’s right tackle situation and who could take the next step in their development. | from @EdEastonJr

The offensive line has been a project that’s seen tremendous growth over the past two seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs. General Manager Brett Veach made it a mission to surround Patrick Mahomes with quality protection and keep him healthy to ensure long-term success.

The Chiefs parted ways with both Andrew Wylie and Orlando Brown Jr. at the beginning of the offseason, opening a path for more playing time to some of their young linemen. With the addition of Jawaan Taylor in free agency, the biggest question mark remains the right tackle position. A player that has potential is third-year OT Lucas Niang. He hasn’t seen a lot of time on the field, in part due to opting out in 2020 and in part due to injury, but Veach continues to believe that he can be a contributor.

“We have a lot of hopes for Lucas (Niang),” said Veach. “And you know, he was the guy that actually won that starting right tackle position, then he got hurt. It’s been a little bit of an uphill battle. Um, he had a pretty bad injury there. But he has worked phenomenally to get in shape. And Rick (Burkholder) and his staff have done a great job of continuing to get him in the right positions to go out there and be productive.”

While Niang appears to be set for a more significant role, Veach also highlighted Prince Tega Wanogho and Darian Kinnard as players ready to take the next step in their development.

“Prince (Tega Wanogho) is a guy that has always kind of steadily grown every year has been here, and I think (Darian) Kinnard, you know, I’m excited for him,” said Veach. “And I think he’ll have a chance to play, play some tackle. We certainly think he has flex, and he may end up being ultimately a better guard. He’s played right tackle in the past, and he was the guy that, you know, struggled a little early on, but I think toward the end of training camp there, and throughout the season, you guys probably don’t get to see as much during the season, but he’s, I think grown rapidly over the last few months. I know Coach (Andy) Heck is really excited for where he is, so again, I think he’s a guy that has flexibility, so he’ll probably get reps at both guard and tackle there.

“But between those three guys and we have three solid guys that can go in there and compete and you know, I’m sure we’ll look to continue to add depth all across that offensive line.”

The Chiefs could add more offensive line help in the draft, but Veach is still looking for opportunities to get young talent who are already enriched in the culture more involved. The returning players with something to prove could lessen the urgency and need to pick an offensive tackle early in the 2023 NFL draft.

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Lucas Niang currently part of Chiefs’ plans at right tackle

Lucas Niang currently is a part of the #Chiefs’ plans at right tackle and will get an opportunity to prove himself this offseason.

The Kansas City Chiefs got free agency and the legal tampering period by signing Jaguars right tackle Jawaan Taylor with the intention to potentially play him at left tackle.

So, what does that mean for the team’s plans at right tackle? Well, the 2023 NFL draft will certainly play a role. It’s possible that the Chiefs manage to draft a left tackle of the future and keep Taylor at right tackle. It’s also possible they end up drafting a rookie to play at right tackle, but that rookie won’t be without competition.

Former 2020 third-round draft pick Lucas Niang is currently a part of the Chiefs’ plans at right tackle. Niang was one of the first players to opt out amidst the COVID-19 pandemic during his rookie season. He started nine games in 2021, including eight games at right tackle. In his ninth start, filling in for Orlando Brown Jr. on the left side in Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals, he suffered a season-ending patellar tendon injury.

Niang would start the 2022 NFL season on the Reserve/PUP list and wouldn’t return from that injury until late November. When he did return, Niang didn’t see much action in games, except for one snap on third down in the biggest game of the season. When Andrew Wylie was declared an eligible receiver for “Pikachu Formation, Gotta Catch ‘Em All” in the Super Bowl he had to leave the field for the next play. Niang came in to spell Wylie.

It wasn’t the prettiest kick slide from Niang, but he got the job done on a six-man blitz. As his former teammate Kyle Long wrote, “Niang is not a Monet, but he’s money when he’s right physically.”

Right now, Niang is a lot closer to being right physically than he has been at any point in his NFL career.

When he entered the NFL out of TCU, he was still dealing with the remnants of a hip injury that dropped him to the third round of the draft in the first place. Rehabbing from his 2021 knee injury, Niang has been able to drop his weight and reshape his body toward NFL standards.

“He lost a lot of weight (during his return last season), and I think we know he can do it,” Chiefs GM Brett Veach said of Niang, via The Athletic. “We feel confident in him. If that’s the case, we’d go into the offseason (program) with Lucas penciled in (at right tackle), and he’d have to show us that he’s back to his old form.”

In the following breath, Veach said he was hoping to bring Andrew Wylie back, so Niang could battle it out with Wylie for the right tackle job. Well, that won’t happen with Wylie heading to Washington on a three-year deal.

The plan here hasn’t yet been that far altered outside of Wylie leaving in free agency. Things could change during the draft or even perhaps in free agency, but as of right now, Niang is going to get an opportunity to prove himself during the offseason program. He’ll get an opportunity to go out there and compete and prove that he has what it takes to be a starter in the league.

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Chiefs OL coach Andy Heck provides update on OT Lucas Niang

The #Chiefs have been easing OT Lucas Niang back following a major knee injury last season. Here’s the latest on his progress from OL coach Andy Heck:

The Kansas City Chiefs activated OT Lucas Niang from the reserve/PUP list back on Nov. 23. The third-round draft pick in 2020 out of TCU suffered a serious knee injury in Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season and was placed on injured reserve.

Niang has been working his way back to health ever since, working to get his knee healthy, but also losing weight and getting fit. The Chiefs have taken the cautious approach of easing him back into action in his return to the active roster. While Niang was activated ahead of the Week 12 tilt with the Los Angeles Rams, he hasn’t returned to the starting lineup for Kansas City quite yet.

The 6-6 and 315-pound tackle has played special teams in each of the last three games with 17 total snaps as a protector on field goals and extra points. In Week 13 against the Bengals — the same team he injured his knee against — Niang got his first snap on offense as an extra blocker.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Chiefs OL coach Andy Heck provided an update on the progress he’s seen from Niang in his return to action.

“It’s good to have Lucas (Niang) back and working,” Heck told reporters on Wednesday. “I think he looks great. One of the things that we love about him is his athleticism, especially for such a big man. His feet look tremendous, his pass sets – he’s picked up right where he’s left off, he’s stayed into it mentally and been in all of our meetings, (he’s) a super sharp guy. I like the work that he’s been putting in, (he) looks good.”

The Chiefs aren’t expected to make any changes at the offensive tackle position in the immediate future, despite the high number of pressures surrendered by their starters at left and right tackle. Niang figures to be depth at the position for the time being. He has been working consistently as the second-team right tackle in pre-game warmups since his return from injury.

In the long term, there still seems to be faith from the front office and coaching staff that Niang can be a quality starter. It’s just a matter of staying healthy and getting the opportunity to show it.

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Chiefs coaches show support for LT Orlando Brown Jr., RT Andrew Wylie

The #Chiefs’ offensive tackle duo leads the league in pressures allowed, but the coaching staff is keeping the faith.

After the Week 13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Kansas City Chiefs’ struggles at the offensive tackle position have come into focus.

Orlando Brown Jr’s 39 pressures allowed ranks first in the NFL through Week 13 according to Pro Football Focus. Brown Jr.’s bookend at tackle, Andrew Wylie, has allowed the second-most pressures in the league (37). Wylie also leads the Chiefs in penalties (8) and sacks allowed (7). The lackluster performance at tackle has saddled the offense at times, most notably in their recent loss to the Bengals.

Asked about Brown Jr. and Wylie’s performance and what he can do to better help them, Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke about the competition they’ve faced each week.

“Well, they’ve gone against some good players,” Reid said. “We do try to help them with chips like with anybody that’s in there. These defensive ends that we’ve played are pretty good and the two that we’re playing this week are pretty good too. That’s part of it.”

It might sound like an excuse, but Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy insists that it isn’t. It’s not just the level of competition they’re facing, but the mentality of those teams playing against Kansas City. They’re looking to see how they measure up against one of the winningest teams in the league.

“It’s not an excuse for those guys, but every week we’re going to get everybody’s best,” Bieniemy said. “Every week is championship football. Those guys know every week what they’re going to be faced (with). As a coaching staff, we could do a better job of helping them out as well, knowing some of the premier pass rushers that they’re going to play against.”

They’ll get more of those pass rushers in the upcoming game against the Denver Broncos, so the coaching staff will need to ensure that they have an airtight plan in place.

“(Baron) Browning No. 56, the kid was an inside (linebacker), now he’s outside wreaking havoc,” Bieniemy said. “No. 53 (Jonathon Cooper), I can’t think of his name, but these guys can play, they get after the quarterback. So, we’ve got to make sure that we’re staying in tune and giving them the necessary help. Those guys know that in certain situations, help won’t be provided. They also understand that they can be better in certain situations, but as a coaching staff we can be better as well.”

As for those fans who are hoping the Chiefs will make a change at the offensive tackle position, don’t expect that coming this week. While Lucas Niang is healthy and anxious to play, it sounds like he’s only being considered in case of an injury at this time.

“I think Lucas (Niang) is chomping at the bit,” Bieniemy said. “I think, obviously, like any professional player, they would all tell you, ‘Hey, I’m the man, I should be starting right now.’ But right now those guys do a pretty good job up front of taking care of business although it hasn’t been perfect all the time. He understands his role, he understands his place and he understands that the biggest thing right now is making sure that if something were to happen, that he’s mentally and physically ready to step in when that situation presents itself.”

The coaching staff appears committed to seeing things through and making sure that Brown Jr. and Wylie get the proper help they need to be successful moving forward.

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Chiefs place RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire on injured reserve, activate OT Lucas Niang

The #Chiefs have placed RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire on injured reserve and activated OT Lucas Niang to the 53-man roster from the Reserve/PUP list.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have made some roster moves ahead of their Week 12 tilt with the Los Angeles Rams.

Following his high ankle sprain against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11, the Chiefs have placed RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire on injured reserve. Per NFL rules, he’ll miss the next four games at a minimum before he can be designated to return from injured reserve. He’ll miss the Week 11 game against the Rams along with road matchups against the Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. He’ll first be eligible to return in Week 16 against the Seattle Seahawks.

This is the second time that Edwards-Helaire has been placed on injured reserve in his three-year NFL career. He last went on IR in October of 2021 with an MCL sprain.

With Edwards-Helaire on injured reserve, Isiah Pacheco could see an increased number of touches and repetitions with each passing week. Andy Reid also suggested that Ronald Jones could be made active for the first time this season in Week 12 against the Rams.

In a corresponding roster move, the Chiefs have activated OT Lucas Niang from the Reserve/PUP list. This was an expected move from the team with Niang’s 21-day practice window expiring on Wednesday. Andy Reid spoke about Niang’s return on Monday, explaining that he wouldn’t immediately return to a starting role on the offensive line.

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Chiefs OT Lucas Niang won’t be starter when activated from Reserve/PUP

While Lucas Niang is expected to be activated from the Reserve/PUP list on Wednesday, #Chiefs HC Andy Reid says he won’t yet return to the starting lineup.

Kansas City Chiefs third-year offensive tackle Lucas Niang is expected to make his return from the Reserve/PUP list this week.

Niang suffered a knee injury in Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season and has been working his way back ever since. He was designated to return to practice on Nov. 2, opening up a 21-day window for the team to opt to activate him to the 53-man roster. That window expires on Wednesday, Nov. 23 and at that time Kansas City will need to make a decision. They can choose to activate him or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

Asked about Niang’s pending return on Monday, Chiefs HC Andy Reid had some positive news. While he hadn’t yet conferred with Brett Veach on his activation, he believed that Niang was ready to return. There was one caveat, though. The former third-round draft pick won’t be returning to the starting lineup, at least not right away.

“Yeah, I’ll talk to (General Manager) Brett (Veach). I haven’t talked to Brett today, but we’ll talk on that and just see where we’re at with that,” Reid said. “But, (Lucas Niang has) made some nice progress over the last couple of weeks. And I’m not telling you he’d be the starter, but I think he’s ready to get in, probably, the two-deep. We’ll have to talk to the kid (Lucas Niang), too.”

Right now, it sounds as if Andrew Wylie will remain the starter at right tackle, with Niang providing depth at that spot moving forward. Wylie suffered an elbow injury that forced him out of the Week 10 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he played every snap in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Niang started nine games at right tackle in 2021, replacing both Andrew Wylie and Mike Remmers at various points of the season. He opted out of his rookie season in 2020, so his NFL experience is rather limited to this point. It makes sense to not rush him back into anything, especially coming off of this serious knee injury.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury updates ahead of Wednesday practice

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided injury updates on Mecole Hardman and Lucas Niang ahead of Wednesday’s practice.

Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his usual pre-practice injury update as the practice week got started on Wednesday.

Everyone is expected to practice outside of WR Mecole Hardman according to Reid. An abdominal injury, which is still being evaluated, popped up after the Week 9 game for Hardman.

“As far as the injuries go, Mecole Hardman has some abdominal soreness,” Reid said. “So, he’s being evaluated and you know this has been going on for a day now — a couple of days now actually. We’re just going to see where and how he is. They don’t have an absolute on it right now, so they’re still doing some tests on it.”

It’s unclear at this time what they’re exactly testing for or whether Hardman is at risk of missing any playing time. In the past three games, Hardman has accounted for five total touchdowns, so an absence for any length of time would be a big hit to the offense.

The good news is that Jody Fortson is expected to return to practice in some capacity. Also, Deon Bush and Jaylen Watson, who were both injured during the Week 9 game against the Tennessee Titans are expected to practice.

As for Lucas Niang, who was designated to return to practice from the Reserve/PUP list last week, it might be another week before the team activates him to the 53-man roster.

“Yeah, he’s working very hard and making progress,” Reid said of Niang. “He’s not there yet, but he’s working at it.”

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury updates ahead of Wednesday practice

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided injury updates on Jody Fortson, Lucas Niang, Blake Bell, Trent McDuffie and Kadarius Toney ahead of Wednesday’s practice.

The Kansas City Chiefs are back in the building preparing to face the Tennessee Titans on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 9.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his pre-practice injury update on Wednesday, providing some good news as players hit the field for practice. He started, however, with the lone player expected to miss practice to start the week.

“As far as the injuries go, Jody Fortson is really the only one that isn’t going to practice today,” Reid said. “He’s got a quad contusion.”

It’s unclear whether Fortson’s injury occurred back in Week 7 or during the bye week. It doesn’t appear to be serious.

As for the good news, the Chiefs will welcome back a player from the Physically Unable to Perform list on Wednesday. According to Reid, the Chiefs have opened the 21-day practice window for OT Lucas Niang. Trent McDuffie and Kadarius Toney will also be among the players practicing.

“Then the people that are coming back here, (Trent) McDuffie will be back, (Lucas) Niang will be back,” Reid said. “Then we added Kadarius (Toney). He’s healthy. He’ll practice.”

Niang suffered a torn patellar tendon in Week 17 last year and began the season on the Reserve/PUP list. Reid emphasized that Niang has worked really hard to get back onto the field, but cautioned that they’ll have to see how he does before making the decision to activate him. Reid also updated media members on the status of TE Blake Bell, who suffered a hip flexor injury during the preseason.

“Blake (Bell) is close, he’s close,” Reid said. “We’ll see how he does here over the next week or two and see where we’re at. (Lucas) Niang worked hard and he’s back in. We’ll just see how he does right now. These guys who come back after these long stints off, you want to see how they do on the field.”

Finally, Reid was asked how close Trent McDuffie was to playing Week 7. He explained how they handle bringing players back from reserve lists in a little more detail.

“We try to keep open communication with these guys and see what they’re feeling,” Reid said. “Their coaches know them. See what the coach sees and how the player feels and obviously the medical staff and trainers. When it was all said and done, we just said, ‘You know what, he needs a little bit more time.’ He’s been great communication-wise with us. We know he wants to play.”

It’s important to keep that in mind for Niang as he begins his 21-day practice window and for Bell when he eventually makes his return.

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