Following the news Monday morning that Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco will miss at least four weeks of the season — and likely much longer — due to a broken fibula, head coach Andy Reid addressed the team’s immediate plans in his opening remarks during Monday’s regular press conference.
“As for Pacheco,” he said, “we’re sticking with the guys we have here. Veach is going through his list now and picking guys. We’ll see where that goes. But we’re fortunate to have some good guys here.”
Rookie free agent Carson Steele — who the Chiefs list as a fullback but who Reid usually refers to as a running back — is likely at the top of Reid’s list of “good guys” to use. In Sunday’s 26-25 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Steele had seven attempts for 24 yards. But he also lost a fumble late in the second quarter that led to a field goal for Cincinnati.
“Well, he’s got to take that role a step further,” Reid noted. “But I think he likes a challenge — and I think this will be a good challenge for him. He’s got to keep the ball high and tight, obviously. He had the fumble yesterday — (although) he’s never done that before — so he’s got to make sure he learns from that.”
The others include veteran Samaje Perine – who joined the team in the final cut to 53 players – as well as practice squad players Emani Bailey and Keaontay Ingram. But Reid doesn’t have much information on any of them.
“Well, one of the defenders,” he began, “I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to give the ball to him – or some of them… well, actually all three of them. So I would say I have confidence in them. I just haven’t experienced it with them yet.”
And then there’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who has the most experience with the team – but is now on the team’s reserve/NFI (non-football injury) list. Even if he’s ready to play, he can’t be taken off that list until the Chiefs have played four games.
“Yeah, that’s part of the equation,” Reid admitted. “So we’ll figure all that out and see how it all fits together. But we know he’s there. We’re just not going to have him here for a couple of weeks.”
Reid spoke to Pacheco twice on Sunday night and said the running back is “in a better place.” However, Reid’s comments also made it clear that Pacheco is very unhappy with the situation.
“It’s tough,” Reid said. “I talked to a couple of kids who came to our house after the game. I said, ‘You know, sometimes when you lose a game, you get emotional. You never want to lose that again. I mean, here’s a guy who loves the game. He had tears in his eyes, he was emotional. But you never want to lose that again. It’s an emotional sport. And nobody likes playing more than he likes playing. So you’re going to see that.’
“And that’s the great thing about this sport.”
