The Kansas City Chiefs appear to have an injury on their defensive line.
Defensive lineman and two-time Pro Bowler Frank Clark aggravated his hamstring during Tuesday’s practice and will undergo an MRI, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
#Chiefs DL Frank Clark aggravated his hamstring in practice today and will undergo an MRI, source said, but with over three weeks to recover before the Sept. 12 opener, there’s optimism he’ll be ready to go.
Pelissero also noted “there’s optimism” that Clark will be ready to go for Kansas City’s Sept. 12 regular-season opener against the Cleveland Browns, due to the fact that the game is three weeks away.
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Clark ‘Favoring His Left Hamstring’ at Practice
Soren Petro of Sportsradio 810 WHB noted at practice today that when Clark limped off the practice field he was “favoring his left hamstring,” and noted soon after that the training staff “laid Frank Clark on the training table and were definitely checking the left hamstring.”
Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star also grabbed a video of Clark exiting practice with a member of the training staff.
Frank Clark leaving practice
Clark Could be Shut Down For Preseason
Luckily, there’s still plenty of time for Clark to heal before the regular season is underway. But since there are still two preseason games left to play, even if Clark was healthy enough to play in them, chances are the Chiefs will likely shut No. 55 and won’t let him play in Weeks 2 and 3 of the preseason. That’ll ensure he is a full go when the games that matter are underway in September.
Clark, 28, is entering his seventh season in the NFL. As a second-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2015 NFL Draft, Clark was traded to the Chiefs in 2019 in exchange for Kansas City’s 2019 first-round pick and 2020 second-round pick.
“We’re happy to add Frank to our team,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said of Clark back in 2019, via Chiefs.com. “Competing against him and watching his film, you can see how physical and impressive he is in both the run and the passing game. He’s young and has consistently played at a high level since he entered the league. Congrats to Brett and his team, as well as Frank’s representatives on getting this deal done.”
During his NFL career, Clark has accumulated 140 tackles, 101 quarterback hits, 55 tackles for loss, 49 sacks, and 11 forced fumbles in 91 games played, according to Pro Sports Reference. Clark has been elected to the Pro Bowl the last two seasons.
2021 Contract Year For Clark…?
The Michigan product is in the third year of a five-year, $104 million contract with Kansas City. He’s on the books for a base salary of $18.5 million in 2021, with a cap hit of $25.8 million, per Spotrac.
2021 is essentially a contract year for Clark, however, despite him being under contract through 2023. That’s because $43.8 million of the $62.3 million guaranteed in his contract has already been paid out to him, so if the Chiefs were to cut ties with him in 2022 they would only eat $12.9 million in dead cap space, per Spotrac, and could avoid paying him the additional $40 million left on his deal.
So while this injury news isn’t significant by the sounds of it, Clark needs to stay on the field and be highly productive if he wants to remain with the Chiefs past 2021.
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Chiefs’ Frank Clark Injured at Practice, Getting MRI: Report