It turns out that Isiah Pacheco‘s return this season is no guarantee.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that Pacheco is having surgery on his fractured right fibula and that he may not be able to return this season. Reid declined to offer a specific timeline for Pacheco’s return.
“I can’t give you a time when he’ll return,” Reid said. “We’ll just see if it’s this season or next season. We’ll see how he does as he goes here.”
That’s less optimistic than an initial report that Pacheco would miss 6-8 weeks and plans to return this year. Pacheco suffered the injury during Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pacheco is Kansas City‘s leading rusher who was playing in a true workhorse role. He rushed 15 times for 45 yards in Kansas City’s Week 1 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Not other Chiefs back tallied more than two carries against Baltimore.
Who will lead Kansas City’s backfield in Pacheco’s absence?
Pacheco overtook Clyde Edwards-Helaire as Kansas City’s lead back as a rookie in 2022 and has maintained the role as the Chiefs have won consecutive Super Bowls. With Edwards-Helaire also out with a non-football illness, it’s not clear who will lead the Chiefs backfield in his absence.
Undrafted rookie Carson Steele and eighth-year veteran Samaje Perine are next up on the depth chart. Steele, who played last season at UCLA, is largely an unknown. He’s rushed seven times for 24 yards in Kansas City’s first two games.
Perine is a career backup who’s been a pass-catching specialist throughout his career. He’s caught two passes for 13 yards this season. He hasn’t carried the ball once.
The Chiefs also signed veteran free agent Kareem Hunt following Pacheco’s injury. Hunt led the NFL in rushing as a rookie in 2017 during his first stint with the Chiefs. But he’s 29 years old and saw a steady decline in his production in his previous three seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Hunt ran for 411 yards and nine touchdowns last season on 3 yards per carry.
Reid said that “there’s a chance” that Hunt will ready to play Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons.
“We’ll get him in here and get some work,” Reid said. “Kind of get him back in the swing of playing. Then we’ll just see as the game gets closer. … Try to get him in a position where he’s ready to play either this week, next week or the following week.”
The Chiefs are off to a 2-0 start with home wins over the Bengals and Ravens.