The Kansas City Chiefs have made a decision regarding OT Lucas Niang’s status ahead of the 2022 NFL season.
Effective at 3:00 p.m. CT today, NFL teams are allowed move players from the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list to the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Niang, who is the Chiefs’ lone remaining player on the Active/PUP list, will be moved to Reserve/PUP list according to multiple reports.
That means Niang will no longer count against the 80-man offseason roster limit, but it also has some meaning as far as his status for the 2022 NFL season is concerned. Four games must elapse during the regular season before Niang can return to practice. When he returns to practice, the team will have a 21-day window to activate Niang from the list.
The NFL and NFLPA ratified new roster rules for the 2022 NFL season and one of the changes was to decrease the number of games players on the PUP list missed. Players previously had to miss six games before they could return to practice.
Niang suffered a torn patellar tendon in Week 17 of last season. It’s a notoriously difficult injury for a big man to come back from, but he’s been hard at work all offseason. He was placed on the Active/PUP list at the onset of the team’s training camp in July. He did attend training camp and rehab with the team while on the Active/PUP list.
It’s probably wise for the Chiefs to play things safe with Niang and his injury. He’s still allowed to attend team meetings and use team facilities for rehab and recovery work. The team won’t be able to activate his 21-day practice window until the onset of Week 5. That means the team could realistically see Niang back in the fold well before the bye week.
