It turns out that Isiah Pacheco’s return this season is not guaranteed.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that Pacheco is undergoing surgery on a fractured right fibula and may not return this season. Reid declined to give a specific timeline for Pacheco’s return.
“I can’t give you a time frame for when he’ll be back,” Reid said. “We’ll see if it’s this season or next season. We’ll see how he does 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 played a workhorse role. He rushed 15 times for 45 yards in Kansas City’s Week 1 win over the Baltimore Ravens. No other Chiefs back had more than two carries against Baltimore.
Who will lead Kansas City’s defense in Pacheco’s absence?
Pacheco overtook Clyde Edwards-Helaire as Kansas City’s lead back as a rookie in 2022 and has retained that role as the Chiefs have won two Super Bowls. It’s unclear who will lead the Chiefs backfield in his absence.
Undrafted rookie Carson Steele and eighth-year veteran Samaje Perine are next on the depth chart. Steele, who played last season at UCLA, is largely unknown. He has rushed for 24 yards seven times in Kansas City’s first two games.
Perine is a career backup who has been a pass-catching specialist his entire career. He has caught two passes for 13 yards this season. He has not carried the ball once.
The Chiefs also signed veteran free agent Kareem Hunt after 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 has seen a steady decline in production over his previous three seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Hunt rushed for 411 yards and nine touchdowns last season on three yards per carry.
Reid said there is a chance Hunt could play Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons.
“We’ll bring him in here and get him some work done,” Reid said. “We’ll get him back in the rhythm of playing. Then we’ll see how the game gets closer. … Try to get him in a position where he’s ready to play, this week, next week or the week after that.”
The Chiefs started 2-0, with home wins over the Bengals and Ravens.
