Getty Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Wanya Morris during the 2023 preseason.
The Kansas City Chiefs have not really deployed rookie offensive tackle Wanya Morris so far outside of five special teams snaps in Week 4.
Having said that, the hope is that Morris can one day develop into a starting left or right tackle with a stopgap like Donovan Smith completing the starting offensive line at this very moment. The Chiefs also need Morris for depth with Prince Tega Wanogho out indefinitely and Lucas Niang as a total question mark following his injuries.
To step into those roles, he’ll have to be healthy, and a new Week 5 injury could delay those progressions for the time being. Chiefs Digest insider Matt Derrick noted that Morris was a late addition on Thursday’s injury report with a “hip” ailment. The rookie was limited in practice after being healthy on Wednesday, so there is a mild cause for concern.
On the bright side, Kansas City appears to be getting healthier in their starting lineup as they head into the matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
Chiefs LB Nick Bolton Logs Another ‘Limited’ Practice as CB Jaylen Watson Listed as Full Participant
Linebacker Nick Bolton is the key Chiefs injury name heading into Week 5. He’s missed the past two games with an ankle issue but finally returned to practice in a limited fashion on October 4.
That means Bolton is trending upwards as KC journeys to Minnesota — although it would be nice to see him log a full practice on Friday.
Speaking of full participants, cornerback Jaylen Watson was upgraded from limited to full on October 5. Watson has been mostly demoted into a backup role in 2023, but he’s still the first man up in the secondary should an injury occur to either Trent McDuffie, L’Jarius Sneed or Joshua Williams.
There is one Chiefs player that’s trending toward an injury absence against the Vikings, but there’s no guarantee he would have been active anyway. That ancillary piece is veteran defensive tackle Matt Dickerson — who has actually appeared in three games this season with all the various missing (or recovering) cogs on the defensive line.
Dickerson has not practiced all week with a knee injury suffered against the New York Jets. The remainder of the Chiefs roster appears to be healthy at this time.
Jawaan Taylor Penalties Begin to Worry Some Within Chiefs Kingdom
At first, KC right tackle Jawaan Taylor was supposedly getting away with penalties in Week 1. Then that flipped completely, and the $80 million starter was getting flagged a “wild” amount according to quarterback Patrick Mahomes II and head coach Andy Reid.
In Week 4, however, Taylor’s penalties were pretty legit. Even if his facemask flag that produced a safety occurred outside of the end zone, it was still foul play either way.
Was this the right call⁉️Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor gets called for a facemask forcing a safety for the Jets
“I’m sure someone has pointed this out already, but Jawaan Taylor already has 10 penalties this season,” voiced NFL analyst Marcus Whitman on X (formerly Twitter) on October 4. “The league leader last SEASON had 14.”
There have been similar grumblings from fans within Chiefs Kingdom, as concerns are certainly rising.
“JAWAAN TAYLOR GET OFF MY TEAM,” one KC fan posted during the Week 4 outing.
Another said: “Jawaan Taylor experiment has to end. Has killed so many drives with penalties this year.”
Even A-to-Z Sports KC media member Charles Goldman acknowledged this frustrating trend on October 1, stating: “Jawaan Taylor with another back-breaking penalty. Good grief.”
Of course, many within the fanbase are still defending Taylor and his ongoing saga with the NFL officials, but the number seems to get smaller by the week. For better or worse, penalties are a crucial part of the NFL and good teams don’t commit them at a rate like Taylor’s. Something has to change — and fast.