The Kansas City Chiefs have made their two remaining roster moves ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. One move will end a player’s season before it even truly begins.
According to multiple reports the Chiefs have placed RB Derrick Gore on injured reserve. Gore, 27, signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs in February of 2021. He didn’t make the initial 53-man roster last season, but he was called up from the practice squad when Clyde Edwards-Helaire was injured.
Gore suffered a fractured thumb in preseason Week 2 according to Chiefs HC Andy Reid.
The move to place Gore on injured reserve prior to 53-man roster cuts means that he will not be able to be designated to return from injured reserve come the regular season. There is a way around that, though. If the Chiefs come to an injury settlement with Gore, they’re allowed to later re-sign him to the practice squad. This happened previously with Chiefs WR Gehrig Dieter during the 2019 season.
For now, however, it looks like Gore won’t be playing with the Chiefs this year. It’s a big hit to Kansas City’s running back depth as Gore was one of the team’s top pass-blocking backs and a multi-phase special teamer.
The other move made by the Chiefs was to place Lucas Niang on the Reserve/PUP list. This brings the roster down to 80 players. The next roster cuts deadline comes on Tuesday, Aug. 30th, when the team must trim its roster to 53 players.
