In preparation for the stretch run of the 2020 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs have brought back a familiar face to help them recover from their woes suffered along the offensive line.
On Saturday evening, a source told Terez Paylor of Yahoo! Sports, Kansas City will sign offensive guard Stefen Wisniewski to the practice squad before being promoted to the active roster. This, of course, is similar to what the Chiefs reportedly plan to do with recently signed defensive back Deandre Baker.
Wiśniewski spent a brief period with the Chiefs last season, starting two regular-season games and three playoff games to help propel Kansas City towards winning Super Bowl LIV, and has been brought back to help the Chiefs do it again. Kansas City tried to retain Wisniewski during free agency, but he opted to sign with his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers but tore his pec in Pittsburgh’s first game against the New York Giants and was waived from the team soon after.
The Chiefs made a few other key roster moves in preparation for their Sunday Night matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders and made an official announcement via Twitter.
For the sixth consecutive week, wide receiver Sammy Watkins will not return to the field due to a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 5. Although he was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, according to the team’s injury report, Watkins must have had some kind of setback because he was limited the rest of the week. The team initially had Watkins as ‘QUESTIONABLE’ to return for Sunday night’s game against the Raiders but eventually downgraded him to ‘OUT’ for Week 11.
The Chiefs also placed defensive end Taco Charlton and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz on injured reserve. Charlton suffered a fractured ankle in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers, and Schwartz has been dealing with an injured back since Week 6. Replacing them on the active roster will be defensive end Alex Okafor and defensive back L’Jarius Sneed, who has been activated from IR.
Sneed returns to the lineup after suffering a fractured collarbone in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens, and Okafor returns to the defensive line after a hamstring injury kept him sidelined since Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills.
For the second consecutive game, the Chiefs have elevated wide receiver Gehrig Dieter and offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann from the practice squad to the active roster. They will likely be in a reserve role in case Kansas City suffers any more injuries to their receiving and o-line cores.
Lastly, the Chiefs have activated wide receiver Mecole Hardman from the COVID/Reserve list, meaning he can play against the Raiders on Sunday night. Having Hardman will help lessen the blow of not having Sammy Watkins on the field. It’s worth noting that Hardman could not practice with his teammates this week, so he may have a softer workload from head coach Andy Reid to help avoid injury.
