Bengals’ Vontaze Burfict Facing Suspension
Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict is facing a five-game suspension for an illegal hit against a Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman in the preseason, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Burfict is appealing and he’ll have his hearing next week. 
Upon learning of the league’s decision, the Bengals offered support for the veteran in a statement:
“The Bengals are aware of the NFL’s letter to Vontaze regarding a play in last weekend’s game. The film shows that the hit was legal, that Vontaze engaged his opponent from the front, and that contact was shoulder-to-chest. The Club will support Vontaze in the appeal process.”
Video of the hit shows Burfict driving his shoulder into Sherman’s head/neck area roughly four or five yards from the line of scrimmage. Sherman is not Alex Smith‘s targeted receiver, but Burfict’s reps may argue that he was first thrown off by a pump fake from the quarterback, leading him to a tackle on the fullback. Burfict will probably argue that the placement of the hit was also accidental.
Of course, this is not Burfict’s first rodeo when it comes to violating league safety rules. Over his five-year career, Burfict has racked up nearly $800K in fines and been flagged 16 times for unnecessary roughness, personal fouls or roughing the passer. Last year, Burfict was sidelines for the first three weeks of the season due to an illegal hit on Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown in the 2015 playoffs.
The Bengals are now slated to be without Burfict for games against the Ravens, Texans, Packers, Browns, and Bills. Because the Bengals have a Week 6 bye, Burfict would not return to the field until Week 7 against the Steelers.
Chiefs’ Spencer Ware Likely Done For Season
Chiefs running back Spencer Ware is expected to require season-ending surgery for a torn PCL and a damaged LCL, Kansas City head trainer Rick Burkholder told reporters, including B.J. Kissel of Chiefs.com (Twitter link) and Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link).
Initial reports indicated Ware would only be sidelined for two-to-eight weeks, a timeline that would have allowed him to return during the 2017 campaign (the Chiefs would have had the option to designate Ware as an injured reserve/return player). Ware will get a second opinion on his health status, but the outlook isn’t positive.
Kansas City has the depth to withstand the loss of Ware, and rookie third-round selection Kareem Hunt will likely step into the starting lineup. Charcandrick West figures to serve as a reserve, while Chiefs head coach Andy Reid also said veteran back C.J. Spiller will likely be part of Kansas City’s roster (Twitter link via Paylor). If Kansas City searches for an external addition, free agents such as DeAngelo Williams, Rashad Jennings, and Ryan Mathews could come into play.
Ware, 25, has spent the past two seasons with the Chiefs, and was the club’s full-time starter for the 2016 season. Last year, he managed 4.3 yards per carry on 214 rushes and scored three times, adding 33 receptions, 447 yards, and two more touchdowns through the air. Ware is signed through 2018 as part of a three-year extension he signed prior to the 2016 campaign.
Chiefs RB Spencer Ware Injures PCL, LCL
It certainly didn’t look good when Chiefs running back Spencer Ware was carted off the field during his team’s preseason game against the Seahawks last night. Fortunately, the injury doesn’t sound as bad as it looked.
According to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, Ware suffered a PCL injury and will undergo a MRI today to determine the damage and how much time he’ll miss. Schefter notes that the recovery timetable could range anywhere from two to eight weeks, although he also notes that Ware avoided injuring his ACL, so the injury shouldn’t be season-ending.
Ware also damaged his LCL, Ian Rapoport notes (on Twitter), adding the tests on his knee proved inconclusive. This stands to further complicate the presumptive Chiefs starter’s status.
“Ware sprained his knee,” coach Andy Reid said after the game (via Matt McMullen of Chiefs.com). “The X-rays were negative and he’ll have an MRI tomorrow. We’ll just see how that turns out.”
The 2013 sixth-round pick had a breakout campaign last season, leading the Chiefs running game with 921 yards and three touchdowns on 214 carries. The 25-year-old was also productive in the passing game, hauling in 33 receptions for 447 yards and two scores. After the team released veteran Jamaal Charles back in February, it was assumed that Ware would be the team’s bona-fide top running back heading into the season.
Now, the team will at least have to eye some alternative options for the time being. The Chiefs are rostering a pair of veterans in Charcandrick West and C.J. Spiller, although it sounds like rookie Kareem Hunt may be the favorite for the interim starter role. The third-round pick was relatively productive in last night’s preseason loss, compiling 39 rushing yards on nine carries.
“Kareem got good work last week and he learned how fast this thing can change where all of a sudden you become that starter and in a position to do that,” said Reid, perhaps confirming that Hunt will indeed be the starter.
Spencer Ware Carted Off With Knee Injury
Chiefs running back Spencer Ware left the field on a cart during the first quarter of their game against the Seahawks on Friday after suffering a right knee injury on a 6-yard reception. The Chiefs confirmed the injury, but the severity remains unknown.
The Seahawks were the first NFL employer for Ware, who entered the league as a sixth-round pick of theirs in 2013. He joined the Chiefs a year later and, after a strong 2015 campaign in reserve, became their go-to to running back last season amid now-Bronco Jamaal Charles‘ injury troubles. Ware ended up rushing for 921 yards on 214 carries and adding five touchdowns (three rushing, two receiving), to go with 33 catches and 447 yards. If healthy, he’s likely to reprise his role as their starter this year, though whether he’ll be physically up to it is now in question.
The Chiefs, who will seek their third straight playoff berth in 2017, did attempt to bolster their backfield behind Ware in the offseason. The team spent a third-round pick on former Toledo star Kareem Hunt, who came in after Ware departed Friday, and signed onetime 1,000-yard rusher C.J. Spiller. Charcandrick West is also on hand, but he averaged just 3.3 yards per carry on 88 attempts last season.
Reid: Alex Smith Has Starting Job
- Chiefs coach Andy Reid was unequivocal when asked whether rookie Patrick Mahomes could start over quarterback Alex Smith. “It’s Alex’s job. There’s no gray area,” Reid said (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com on Twitter). John Dorsey was in charge at the time of the Mahomes pick, but apparently new GM Brett Veach was the one who put him on Dorsey and Reid’s radar. There’s every reason to believe that Mahomes will wind up as the Chiefs’ main QB at some point, but the Chiefs want to avoid speculation of the transition happening this year.
Reid: Chiefs Could Keep West, Spiller
Andy Reid said the Chiefs might not have to choose between Charcandrick West or C.J. Spiller. The team might retain all four of its top running backs, Reid said (via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com).
This may not be an automatic indication Kansas City plans keep both West and Spiller, and one could well be trade bait since both smaller backs might not make sense as Nos. 3-4 options. The Chiefs signed Ware and West to identical contracts during the 2016 offseason, and West has two years and barely $3MM remaining on his deal. He received the initial crack at replacing Jamaal Charles in 2015 and led the Chiefs in rushing that season with 634 yards (4.0 per carry). He operated as Ware’s backup last season but possesses top-end straight-line speed that could be useful on a team with less backfield depth.
Spiller caught on with the Chiefs in February after being cut by several teams. The former first-round pick is making the league minimum. Kansas City also has veteran fullback Anthony Sherman in line to occupy a roster spot.
Charcandrick West's Roster Spot In Jeopardy
- Chiefs running back Charcandrick West is one of the most popular players in the Kansas City clubhouse, but thanks to the emergence of rookie Kareem Hunt and the revival of C.J. Spiller, his roster spot is in jeopardy, as Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star writes. The Chiefs could keep four running backs, but Paylor suggests that is somewhat unlikely unless the team is confident West or Spiller could also line up as a slot receiver if necessary.
Brett Veach Led Chiefs' Mahomes Pursuit
Andy Reid credited recently hired GM Brett Veach of alerting him to the likes of DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Fletcher Cox during the duo’s time together with the Eagles. The new Chiefs GM’s latest pet project was a player who figures to have a big say in whether the franchise can challenge for a Super Bowl title in the years to come. Reid said Veach was “all in on” Patrick Mahomes during the franchise’s draft preparation and brought the Texas Tech prospect onto he and then-GM John Dorsey‘s radar.
The Chiefs have brought in several cornerstone players during Dorsey and Veach’s time as top execs, with Travis Kelce, Marcus Peters and Tyreek Hill becoming first-team All-Pros in 2016. Mahomes recently commandeered Kansas City’s backup quarterback job.
- Viewed as the AFC West favorite despite the Chiefs’ sweep in this rivalry last season, the Raiders have seen their backup quarterback picture clear up to some degree in recent days. Jack Del Rio said (via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle) said E.J. Manuel has outperformed Connor Cook so far and is in the No. 2 spot behind Derek Carr. A former Bills first-rounder, Manuel signed a modest one-year deal with the Raiders early in free agency.
Khaseem Greene Has Charges Dropped
Khaseem Greene is in the clear. The gun charge against the former Bears and Chiefs linebacker has been dropped, as Jessica Remo of NJ.com details. 
Greene, 28, was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun in May, prompting the Chiefs to release him from his futures deal. At the time, prosecutors claimed to have surveillance video of Greene handing a gun to someone outside of a nightclub. That position was backed up by the testimony of Jason Sanders, who confessed that Greene handed him the firearm.
Apparently, Sanders recanted his story on the very same day of his confession, but authorities in New Jersey may have kept that part off of the record until today.
“Okay, well you can recant at another time. Not tonight,” one of the detectives told Sanders. “When the prosecutor’s office talks to you about your case you can say that wasn’t Khaseem, I don’t know what I was doing, but tonight this is an official statement. So you have every right as someone who is being charged with a crime to recant any part or all of your statement after your initial statement. Okay?”
Today’s news could pave the way for Greene to get back into the NFL, but he was already on the fringes of the league before the legal issue came about.
Patrick Mahomes Vaults To Chiefs' QB2
- This probably shouldn’t be a surprise, but it appears Patrick Mahomes has leapfrogged Tyler Bray on the Chiefs‘ depth chart after their first preseason game, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports. Despite the rare first-round investment from a franchise that spent a generation signing free agent quarterbacks or trading for them, the Chiefs first installed Mahomes as their third-stringer to start camp.