–The Chiefs placed Laurent Duvernay-Tardif on injured reserve on Tuesday after an MRI showed more extensive ligament damage in his ankle beyond a fractured fibula and putting his return this season in doubt.
“It was a little bit worse than what we originally thought,” head coach Andy Reid said during his Wednesday press conference. “Not to the point where potentially he could come back this year. Just have to see, see how he heals up.”
Duvernay-Tardif has a Maisonneuve injury, according to the club’s head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder.
“Basically what happens there is his ankle gets externally rotated, the force tears ligaments in his ankle, runs up the leg and breaks his fibula.”
A Maisonneuve fracture essentially consists of two injuries, according to the Mayo Clinic. It typically includes a fracture of the fibula along with an ankle sprain that stretches or tears the ligaments. Standard X-rays typically do not reveal the extent of the ligament damage.
Durvernay-Tardif will undergo surgery Monday by Dr. Bob Anderson in Green Bay, Wis. Anderson is co-chairman of the NFL’s foot and ankle sub-commitee and performed surgery on several Chiefs players in the past. He performed the Achilles tendon repairs on both Eric Berry and Derrick Johnson.
Postoperative recovery for a Maisonneuve injury typically requires six to 12 weeks without bearing weight on the ankle. That’s followed by physical therapy. Burkholder declined to put a timetable on his recovery Wednesday.
“We’ll know after the surgery how much time he’ll miss,” Burkholder said.
But Reid sounded much pessimistic about his starting right guard’s recovery than he did earlier in the week.
“I wish I could predict it but they’re all a little different,” Reid said of the injury. “There’s a chance he could. I think in the next few weeks we’ll tell you here how that goes.”
–With outside linebackers Justin Houston and Tanoh Kpassagon on the sideline for practice Wednesday, the Chiefs signed two linebackers this week as stopgap measures in preparation for taking on the New England Patriots Sunday.
“I think it’ll be a stretch for Justin,” said head coach Andy Reid about the prospect of Houston playing against the Patriots. “(Kpassagnon) I think will have a chance here. But we just make sure we’re OK in that spot just in case.”
Houston left last week’s game against Jacksonville with a hamstring injury and did not return. Kpassagnon briefly left the game after tweaking his ankle. The Chiefs finished the game with just two available outside linebackers following Dee Ford’s disqualification from the game.
The club re-signed free agent Frank Zombo on Tuesday, then inked free agent Nate Orchard on Wednesday. Zombo spent the past five seasons with the Chiefs before his release during the cutdown to 53 players before Week 1. Orchard played for the Cleveland Browns the past three seasons before his release at the end of the preseason. He recently spent a short stint with the Buffalo Bills.
Orchard, who took on a prominent role in this year’s “Hard Knocks” series on HBO, played for head coach Kyle Whittingham at Utah and gained experience in the 3-4 defense with the Browns.
“He played for a good friend of mine at Utah,” Reid said. “He knows the system and is familiar with it. He would fit in that way. And then he is a good player. He is a very hard worker, high effort guy.”
–Jordan Devey spent much of Sunday’s 30-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in his usual routine, watching the offense from the sideline and making sure all his linemen teammates return to the huddle at the end of the play when he saw right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif go down after a Jaguars defender rolled up his left leg.
“Obviously in that situation you’re just paying attention to the guys and hoping everyone gets up,” Devey said, “and if they don’t, then going in and try to do your best job It’s always going through my mind to do the best I can for them.”
That’s the life of a backup offensive lineman, and it’s a role that Devey continues serving well during his six-year NFL career. He’s played in 37 games over those seasons with 15 starts. But he spent most of his career working on special teams or standing by in case disaster strikes.
“It’s definitely not new to me,” Devey said. “During the game it’s a matter of knowing the positions I can go in for and just paying attention and waiting to see. You never want anyone to go down but you obviously have to ready for it.”
Devey bounced through three NFL clubs before finding a home in Kansas City in 2016. He filled in as a starter for two games during his first season in Kansas City, and he played in each of the first five games this season on special teams and as an occasional sixth lineman. That experience makes him the next man up, head coach Andy Reid says.
“We are fortunate to have him where he has played for us and started for us,” Reid said. “Everybody is confident in him that he can step in and go.”
As a utility lineman, Devey’s weekly preparation as a backup may exceed that of a starter. He needs preparation to enter at center or either guard position and know the rules and assignments for all three spots.
“Throughout my career that’s how it is every week, whether I’m playing, not playing, dressing, not dressing,” Devey said. “You have to prepare the same because you never know what will happen. As far as this week, it’s business as usual, prepare the same, study the same and just be ready for the game.”
His first game filling in for Duvernay-Tardif c0mes at New England, which hold personal meaning for Devey. He spent parts of two seasons with the Patriots, and earned a Super Bowl ring with the 2014 champions.
“It was home for us for a while,” Devey said. “My son was born there, so there is that tender part of it there.”
Devey also sports a different look this season. He decided during training camp to let his hair grow, which now leaves him with the most pronounced mullet on the team. Then the Chiefs won their season opener, and he couldn’t trim his hair with the team gaining momentum.
“I’m a little superstitious with it, so it’s staying as long as we’re rolling the way we are,” he said.
How does his family feel about the new hair style?
“Love-hate relationship, I’ll say that,” Devey said.
BY THE NUMBERS: 200 – Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady can reach the 200-win plateaus with a win Sunday night. Reid needs one win to become the ninth coach in league history with 200 total wins including the postseason. Brady needs one victory to become the first quarterback in league history with 200 regular-season wins.
