MIAMI, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 02: Stefen Wisniewski #61 of the Kansas City Chiefs blocks against DeForest Buckner #99 of the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs won the game 31-20. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
The Chiefs are reuniting with a key depth player from their Super Bowl run.
Kansas City is dealing with a couple key offensive line injuries and/or COVID-19 restrictions, which includes Eric Fisher, Mitchell Schwarz and Martinas Rankin. Even if they’re able to test negative in time for Sunday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, it’s good to have Stefen Wisniewski around for depth.
Wisniewski played a role in their Super Bowl run last year, as he stepped in for injured offensive linemen Andrew Wylie and Rankin. He started the last two games of the season at left guard, and their playoff run. When the Chiefs reached paydirt with a Super Bowl LIV win, Wisniewski cashed in with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency. Yet, Wisniewski’s run with the Steelers was short-lived, as he suffered a pectoral injury Week 1 and was cut to make room for trade acquisition Avery Williamson.
Wisniewski brings experience to the Chiefs offensive line
The one thing the Chiefs can’t afford is to put Patrick Mahomes at risk. Their $500 million man is having another MVP season, and adding Wisniewski to the roster assures that even if their go-to, starting offensive line goes down, they can rely on someone in the reserve unit to lead the charge.
Wisniewski won’t be able to play until next week at the earliest due to COVID-19 testing, meaning the Chiefs could be shorthanded against the Raiders based on how the COVID-19/reserve list plays out.
Wisniewski has, evidently, full recovered from his pec injury. Assuming that’s the case, this move makes all the sense in the world for Brett Veach and Co.