Chiefs cornerback Keith Reaser deflects a pass against the Denver Broncos.
The Kansas City Chiefs have been bit by the injury bug over the first weekend of training camp. Players such as Mitchell Schwartz, Damien Williams, and Gehrig Dieter have been sidelined with minor injuries. The Chiefs suffered their first big loss of camp on Monday.
Cornerback Keith Reaser was carted off the field during Monday’s practice. The Chiefs fear that it is a torn Achilles, which would force him to miss the entire 2019 season.
Reaser has now suffered two injuries during two different stints with the Chiefs. He was at camp with the Chiefs this time last season until he suffered a quad injury. The Chiefs decided to let him go after the injury. Reaser found himself playing in the Alliance of American Football where he was s standout. With the AAF now extinct, Reaser earned another shot in Kansas City. He is not signed for next season so this could have been his last chance in a Chiefs’ uniform.
Andy Reid revealed on Monday morning that the team believes that it is a torn Achilles for Reaser.
“It was unfortunate he had that quad injury last year,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said of Reaser when he was signed this past February. “I think he was a guy that was probably going to make our 90-man roster. He was a guy that we liked coming out of Florida Atlantic and he got hurt, didn’t go to the combine, and those guys are a little bit tricky in the draft because you don’t know if they’re going to get drafted at all or how late they’ll fall and putting a value on those guys is sometimes difficult.”
Chiefs’ Cornerback Position
Reaser was not going to be a starter for the Chiefs this season. He is a player with little experience, and was not quite ready to be a full time player in the NFL. This does not mean that he was not important.
The Chiefs are thin at the cornerback position. Right now, two former Washington Redskins Kendall Fuller and Bashaud Breeland are slated to be the starters. Breeland has already missed time with an injury. Charvarius Ward will be the third corner on the team with Reaser most likely being fourth before suffering this devastating injury.
Reaser’s injury opens the door for Tremon Smith. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Chiefs in 2018 and served as a practice squad player last season. Smith will not be thrown into the fire with the Chiefs’ depth chart being paper thin.
Reaser was brought to Kansas City to bolster the cornerback position. What attracted the Chiefs to Reaser on multiple occasions was his versatility. At 27 years old, Reaser was right in the prime of his career and ready to make an impact. His injury has now opened a position battle for the fourth spot on the depth chart.
It is unknown if the Chiefs will seek help at corner. Breeland and Fuller, while injury prone, have a chance to be the base of a strong secondary. After the top two, Kansas City does not have many reliable resources for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to work with.