Blake Bell has surgery, Lucas Niang to Reserve/PUP list | KCSN Daily 8.23
Plus practice updates, roster news, quotes and more as the Chiefs approach preseason Week 3
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As the Chiefs prepare for preseason Week 3’s match against the Green Bay Packers, they opened Tuesday with some injury-related news. The most notable — veteran TE Blake Bell underwent arthroscopic hip surgery to repair a hip flexor injury suffered during preseason Week 1.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid doesn’t expect Bell to be ready for the season opener or anytime soon for that matter.
“I don’t think it’s going to be real quick,” he said of Bell’s injury timeline.
He added that injured reserve is a possibility for Bell, but that they hadn’t yet made a decision there.
“We’ll see,” Reid said. “We’re kind of throwing some things around right now.”
Bell, 31, is the team’s best blocking tight end. He has been a key player on short-yardage situations lately, taking snaps as a wildcat QB and operating under center when the Chiefs need a QB sneak. His absence will create a unique roster need for the team as no other tight end on the roster has Bell’s exact skill set.
Practice injury/absence updates:
8/23 - WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee), DE Carlos Dunlap (Achilles), CB Rashad Fenton (groin), RB Derrick Gore (thumb/IR), TE Blake Bell (hip surgery), RT Lucas Niang (knee/PUP list) and WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (undisclosed) did not practice.
Transactions:
8/22 - Waived - CB Brandin Dandridge, S Nasir Greer and OL David Steinmetz
8/23 - Reserve/PUP list - Lucas Niang (knee)
8/23 - Injured reserve - Derrick Gore (thumb)
The roster is now down from 85 to 80 players ahead of today’s 80-man roster deadline.
What does the Reserve/PUP List mean for Lucas Niang?
Niang’s movement to this list from the Active/PUP list means that he no longer counts against the offseason roster. The NFL modified its rules regarding the Reserve/PUP list this season. Previously, players would need to wait for six games to elapse in order to return to practice. Now, players need to wait for a minimum of four games to elapse before they are allowed to start their practice window. Once that window has begun, it will last for 21 days. At the conclusion of those 21 days, the Chiefs must decide to activate Niang or place him on season-ending injured reserve.
What does injured reserve mean for Derrick Gore?
Injured reserve prior to the beginning of the 2022 NFL season means that Gore will not be eligible to be designated to return from injured reserve. His season with the Chiefs is effectively over, but the team does have one option with Gore that they can explore. They can waive him from injured reserve with an injury settlement and later re-sign him to the practice squad, which the team did with Gehrig Dieter back in 2019. It’s an obscure workaround to the NFL’s rules, but it is a possibility for a player like Gore.
Quotable:
“Just constant growth each and every week. Each and every day, again, you see the young guys add on and come in. They know the defense well; we didn’t have to slow it down for them or anything. So, to see that and to get those guys adding on to the defense on the back end, defensive ends, linebackers, they added on a great piece to this whole defense.” - LB Willie Gay Jr. on the Chiefs’ growth on defense
Listen to former Chiefs OL Jeff Allen and DT Mike DeVito in One on One as they speak with Duke Manyweather of OL Masterminds.
“Oh yeah. Deon (Bush) is a heck of a player. He’s that guy that you definitely want on the field. We’ve been talking about an ‘attitude’ defense each and every single day and hits like that will just set the tone. That will let the opponents know that we’re not here to mess around. Like we’re serious. We’re going to lay the boom. Every time we’re on the field, you’re going to feel us.” - S Juan Thornhill on Deon Bush’s hit vs. the Commanders
Quick Hits:
From the AFC West: Los Angeles Chargers CB J.C. Jackson — their top free agent signing of the offseason — underwent ankle surgery and is out 2-4 weeks. The Chiefs play the Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.
From SiriusXM NFL Radio: Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke about his passion for coaching and why he won’t be considering retirement anytime soon.
From Twitch: Fortnite streamer Ninja shared a video of his first win while his character was wearing one of Patrick Mahomes’ new in-game skins.
Mahomes approved of the win.
KCSN Foundation:
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Important dates ahead:
Thursday, Aug. 25 - Preseason Week 3: Chiefs vs. Packers - 7:00 p.m. CT - Kansas City, Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium
Tuesday, Aug. 30 - Final roster cuts - 80 to 53 players (due 3:00 p.m. CT)
Wednesday, Aug. 31 - Waiver claiming period ends (due 11:00 a.m. CT)
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