Isiah Pacheco

Chiefs Could Be In Market For RBs

With Isiah Pacheco finding himself unavailable due to injury, the Chiefs are reportedly exploring the trade market options at the position, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. There are several different options that could be attractive to Kansas City.

While featured backs like Breece Hall and Alvin Kamara are seemingly on the market, the Chiefs haven’t really had a true featured back since Patrick Mahomes and Kareem Hunt‘s rookie year, when Hunt carried the ball 272 times and the next running back had 18 carries. Ever since that 2017 campaign, Kansas City hasn’t seen a 1,000-yard rusher, nor has it seen a single back dominate the team’s carries like Hunt did. The Chiefs have, instead, operated with a stable of backs, and that doesn’t seem likely to change now.

Even without Pacheco, there are familiar names of backs the team drafted years ago on the roster. Hunt has been RB2 in Kansas City after returning last year, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire is currently on the team’s practice squad. Behind Hunt, rookie seventh-round pick Brashard Smith and Elijah Mitchell sit on the active roster, though Mitchell has been inactive for every game this year. Hunt has mostly split carries with Pacheco in the run game, and Smith has established a role as a third-down back, utilizing his skills as a receiver, the position he originally played in college before transitioning to running back after transferring to SMU.

So, what kind of options fit in with Kansas City’s approach to the position? After taking a pay cut and watching two rookies pass him up on the depth chart, Jerome Ford could find his way to Kansas City via trade. In the same division, Justice Hill has been a staple in Baltimore since being drafted, mostly for working as if no job is too small. The Ravens have been making a concerted effort to find more touches for third-year back Keaton Mitchell, though, and with Derrick Henry as the featured rusher, Hill may be seen as superfluous in Baltimore’s backfield.

In the NFC, two recently demoted backs could be available. In Carolina, Chuba Hubbard missed some time due to injury and watched Rico Dowdle take the offense by storm and move into the starting role. Philadelphia traded for Tank Bigsby out of Jacksonville, relegating former Packers RB2 AJ Dillon to a fourth-string role. As a power back, Dillon probably makes the most sense to replace Pacheco in the rotation, but as a Super Bowl adversary in two of the past three years, the Eagles may not be super willing to make a trade that could improve the Chiefs this year.

Breer’s report came only this morning, so more clues may make headlines in the days to come indicating what direction Kansas City is looking in. News of Pacheco’s injury is only three days old itself, and there may be no need for a trade if his outlook improves in the next few days. For now, Hunt and Smith will take on larger roles in the backfield, and Mitchell may make his 2025 debut.

Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco Suffers MCL Injury

Hoping to bounce back from an injury-marred 2024, Isiah Pacheco will see another malady hamper him during a contract year. This time, a knee injury will likely force the Chiefs’ starting running back off the field.

Pacheco suffered an MCL sprain Monday night, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. Labeled “week to week,” Pacheco is likely to miss at least the Chiefs’ Week 9 matchup against the Bills. Kansas City’s bye is in Week 10, so the team could pass on moving the longtime starter to IR.

Veering toward serviceable in Year 4, Pacheco has been part of a committee upon coming back from a broken leg. Kareem Hunt returned during Pacheco’s 2024 injury absence and re-signed this offseason. The aging RB has remained a steady presence in Kansas City’s backfield, with rookie seventh-rounder Brashard Smith seeing more work as this season has progressed as well. Earlier, the Chiefs appeared puzzled by their backfield struggles. The team expected more from Pacheco earlier, though he has delivered a slight production uptick since.

Pacheco, 26, has posted three straight games with 50-plus rushing yards. The Chiefs rank ninth in rushing, and Pacheco (329 yards; 4.2 per carry) finally passed Patrick Mahomes in ground yardage — after the QB’s scampers comprised a big chunk of the team’s total earlier in the season. But this will stall any Pacheco momentum, leaving Hunt (245, four TDs) as the next man up.

The Chiefs had come up at multiple junctures since August as a team looking around for RB help, but recent reporting suggested the three-time reigning AFC champions were more likely to ride it out with their current crew there and find pass-rushing aid at the trade deadline. It is possible this injury prompts the team to reconsider, but if Pacheco does not head to IR, the team could merely wait it out. MCL sprains, though, can linger. It is quite possible IR will be necessary.

A seventh-round success story who had bailed out the Chiefs on their Clyde Edwards-Helaire first-round miss, Pacheco posted 830 rushing yards as a rookie and 935 in 2023. Both seasons brought Super Bowl wins for the Chiefs, who had a low-cost RB complementing a team with big-ticket contracts at several O-line spots. The hard-charging back’s 2024 injury slowed him, and this MCL issue provides another hurdle in his path toward a notable free agent market. Though, he should still have some time to adjust an injury-prone narrative before that point. Edwards-Helaire remains on the Chiefs’ practice squad; he could be an option to move up if an IR move occurs.

Chiefs ‘Puzzled’ By Run-Game Struggles

Although Patrick Mahomes only gained two rushing yards in the Chiefs’ win over the Giants, the two-time MVP still leads all quarterbacks in this area — with 125 — entering Week 4. Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts have 118 and 117, respectively.

This is more an indictment to the state of Kansas City’s offense than a credit to Mahomes’ deceptive run-game abilities. Long preferring to be a pocket passer and a historically gifted improviser, Mahomes had needed to shoulder a much bigger rushing workload. The Chiefs have both struggled, Tyquan Thornton‘s Sunday-night contributions notwithstanding, to find aerial consistency and success on the ground.

[RELATED: Examining The Misses Leading To Chiefs’ Offensive Decline]

While the Rashee Rice suspension and Xavier Worthy labrum tear were going to create challenges for the Chiefs in passing game, their backfield is fully staffed. Kansas City has Isiah Pacheco recovered from the fractured fibula he suffered last September, and the team re-signed Kareem Hunt. Neither has cleared 100 rushing yards through three games, with Pacheco sitting at 92 and Hunt at 81. The Chiefs have expected more from their ground attack, per ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano, who indicates the team is “puzzled” by its lack of success here.

The Chiefs had seen promising signs from Pacheco in training camp and expected a return to form, Graziano adds, but the contract-year player has not done so. Pacheco and Hunt are averaging 3.7 and 3.5 yards per carry, respectively, despite the team employing All-Pro center Creed Humphrey and Pro Bowl right guard Trey Smith.

Humphrey is the NFL’s highest-paid center, while Smith sits second among guards after his July extension. The Chiefs traded All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney to the Bears, making room for Smith’s payday, and has whiffed on the four-year, $80MM deal given to high-end free agent-turned-penalty maven Jawaan Taylor at right tackle. The team, though, has seen positive early returns from first-round LT Josh Simmons. The team has a fourth high-priced O-linemen — free agency addition Jaylon Moore (two years, $30MM) — but has parked him as a backup early. Yet, its rushing attack has not shown much beyond Mahomes scrambles.

A former seventh-round pick, Pacheco helped bail out the Chiefs on their Clyde Edwards-Helaire miss by taking over as the starter during his 2022 rookie season. He totaled 830 rushing yards (4.9 per carry) that year and 935 (4.6) in 2023. The hard-running ballcarrier did return from his broken leg in-season last year, making it back before December, but did not flash the same form. The Chiefs effectively let it be known they were awaiting more from Pacheco before extension talks commenced. Unsurprisingly, nothing has emerged on that front.

Seventh-round rookie Brashard Smith is in place as a third-stringer, and Graziano adds the team views him as a potential weapon in the passing game. As far as traditional run options go, Pacheco and a declining Hunt represent the three-time reigning AFC champions’ lead options.

The Chiefs were connected to a potential trade for a running back in late August, but nothing transpired. (The team then re-signed Edwards-Helaire, who failed to make the Saints’ 53-man roster.) It would stand to reason that this drought continuing would prompt the team to revisit that pursuit ahead of the November 5 trade deadline.

In other Chiefs skill-position news, Rice can return to their facility this week. The suspended wide receiver will be able to attend meetings, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, though he cannot practice until the ban wraps after Week 6. Rice will be unable to attend practice as an observer, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry adds.

Chiefs Could Be In Veteran RB Market, Will Not Extend Isiah Pacheco Before Season

With Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine eligible for free agency this month, Isiah Pacheco and Carson Steele are the only running backs the Chiefs have under contract for 2025 (excepting futures deal signee Keaontay Ingram). As such, it would come as no surprise if Kansas City were to explore the veteran RB market, as Dianna Russini of The Athletic writes (subscription required).

The free agent class of running backs is not as robust as it was in 2024, when Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry changed teams and had tremendous impacts on the fortunes of their new clubs. The Vikings’ Aaron Jones is perhaps the top option that could be available, though he and Minnesota may come to terms on a new deal before free agency opens. Other high-profile targets include Nick Chubb, who (understandably) struggled a bit in 2024 after suffering a devastating knee injury early in the 2023 slate, and Najee Harris, who is durable and steady but who lacks explosiveness.

Of course, if Pacheco can recapture the form he displayed over his first two years in the league from 2022-23, the Chiefs would be more than happy to have him atop their depth chart while simply seeking a complementary talent this offseason. Unfortunately, Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula in Week 2 of the 2024 season, and though he was ultimately able to make it back on the field, he failed to hit the 4.0-yards-per-carry mark in any of his final seven games of the campaign (including playoffs).

Hunt and Perine also failed to impress, so KC is interested in looking elsewhere for an established back to provide some insurance at the RB spot. And, while Pacheco is eligible for an extension for the first time, Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline says the Chiefs will not enter into contract talks until after the season gets underway and they can see if Pachecho looks like his old self.

Such a development would certainly go a long way towards the Chiefs’ aim of winning the AFC Championship for the fourth consecutive year. The Rutgers product averaged 4.7 yards per carry over his first 375 regular season totes from 2022-23, and he recorded a 4.3-YPC average across 118 rushes during Kansas City’s Super Bowl runs at the end of both of those seasons.

This year’s draft class of RBs is said to be one of the deepest in years, and after GM Brett Veach & Co. struck gold on Pacheco in the seventh round of the 2022 draft, they could certainly consider reinforcing the depth chart with a rookie even if they add a veteran before then.

Chiefs Activate RB Isiah Pacheco, DE Charles Omenihu

NOVEMBER 28: To no surprise, Pacheco and Omenihu will be back in the fold tomorrow. Both players have officially been activated, per a team announcement. Kansas City still has plenty of flexibility with respect to future IR activations over the closing weeks of the campaign.

NOVEMBER 27: One game up on the Bills but lacking the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Chiefs have some work to do in their pursuit of earning home-field advantage for a fourth time in the Patrick Mahomes QB1 era. They look set to have some reinforcements coming soon.

Respectively in the IR- and PUP-return windows, Isiah Pacheco and Charles Omenihu are expected to play Friday against the Raiders, Andy Reid said (via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher). The Chiefs are in good shape for injury activations, and since Omenihu is coming off the PUP list, he will not count toward the eight-activation total. Pacheco coming back will still leave Kansas City with six such moves available.

Pacheco has been out since Week 2, suffering a fractured fibula, while Omenihu has not played since going down with a torn ACL in last season’s AFC championship game. The Chiefs opened both contributors’ practice windows November 13. While this would have given the duo another week to return before re-emerging on the active roster, the team is prepared to deploy both against the Raiders.

Pacheco’s comeback represents a more important development, as the Chiefs have turned to retread Kareem Hunt in his place. A former seventh-round pick, Pacheco underwent surgery but had been a candidate to come back in late November. His return will check in within that timeframe and provide the Chiefs with the option of either turning back to Pacheco in a full-time role or forming a committee with Hunt — reacquired in the wake of Pacheco’s injury — down the stretch. Hunt leads the Chiefs with 577 rushing yards, though he is averaging just 3.7 per carry and ranks last in rush yards over expected (minus-74), per Next Gen Stats.

Quickly usurping Clyde Edwards-Helaire as Kansas City’s top back in 2022, Pacheco will have a chance to make a push for a second contract in the coming weeks. The Chiefs have Pacheco — a two-time 800-plus-yard rusher, combining for 12 rushing TDs from 2022-23 — signed through the 2025 season, but the Rutgers alum becomes extension-eligible in January. The Chiefs have not signed off on a notable RB contract since Jamaal Charles‘ two-year, $18MM extension in 2014, though they were believed to have pursued Josh Jacobs this offseason. Pacheco will bring an eventual decision for the AFC power, having provided tremendous value from his No. 251 overall draft slot.

Attached to a three-year, $24MM deal, Omenihu has started the past two seasons late. The Chiefs signed the defensive end with the expectation he would be suspended for a domestic violence arrest, and Omenihu made an impact during an abbreviated first season in Kansas City. He registered a career-high seven sacks last season, adding another in the Baltimore matchup before the ACL tear. No Chief has more than four sacks thus far this season, with George Karlaftis leading way (four) on a Chris Jones-centered D-line. Offseason re-signing Michael Danna continues to start at Kansas City’s other D-end spot, but Omenihu stands to provide a potentially impactful rotational presence alongside trade addition Josh Uche.

Isiah Pacheco, Charles Omenihu To Return To Chiefs Practice

NOVEMBER 17: In keeping with earlier reports on the matter, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says that Pacheco is expected to return to the lineup for the Chiefs’ Week 12 matchup with the Panthers.

NOVEMBER 12: The Chiefs continue to craft escape routes to keep their unbeaten season — and win streak dating back to last year — alive, but their point differential (plus-58, ninth in the NFL) illuminates the tightrope the two-time reigning champions are walking. As Kansas City prepares for a stretch run that features games against the other three AFC division leaders, some help is on the way.

While Rashee Rice is out for the season and Marquise Brown is not in play to return during the regular season, the other Chiefs skill-position player who suffered a major injury early this year is on the road back. Isiah Pacheco is set to practice this week, ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher reports.

Down with a broken fibula that required surgery, Pacheco has been making progress to the point a late-November return is believed to be in play. That would help a Chiefs run game that has turned to retread Kareem Hunt and Broncos castoff Samaje Perine. Additionally, Teicher notes Charles Omenihu is set to join Pacheco at practice this week.

Omenihu is on Kansas City’s reserve/PUP list and would not count toward the team’s in-season activation total. Pacheco would, but the Chiefs are in good shape in terms of activations. They still have seven of their eight remaining. Both players have three weeks to be activated.

Usurping Clyde Edwards-Helaire as the Chiefs’ top running back during his 2022 rookie season, Pacheco has become a key performer during the franchise’s Super Bowl run. Pacheco has started in both the Chiefs’ previous two Super Bowls, generating strong returns on his seventh-round draft slot. Pacheco cranked out 935 rushing yards in his lone season as a full-time starter, adding 313 more in last season’s playoffs. The Chiefs have Pacheco signed on a rookie deal through the 2025 season.

Like Pacheco, Omenihu has three weeks to return to the 53-man roster. The Chiefs have given the veteran defensive end considerable time to recover from the ACL tear sustained in the 2023 AFC championship game. Signed to a three-year, $24MM deal as a free agent in 2023, Omenihu made an impact, tallying seven regular-season sacks and one more in the playoffs last year. This season has marked the second straight delayed start for Omenihu, who served a six-game suspension for a domestic violence arrest to begin his Chiefs tenure.

Kansas City made two trades to help its EDGE situation this year. Weeks after acquiring Cam Thomas from the Cardinals, the Chiefs added Josh Uche from the Patriots. The team has integrated 2023 first-round D-end Felix Anudike-Uzomah into its rotation more this season, but the Kansas City-area native is still playing just 36% of the team’s defensive snaps. Uche working his way into the mix alongside George Karlaftis and the re-signed Michael Danna will not leave as much room for the second-year player, with Omenihu’s reemergence set to factor into this mix again soon.

Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco Targeting Return By Late November

Although the Bills have found their form early and the Ravens’ dismantling of the Broncos showcases their potential at their best, the Chiefs are still unbeaten in a conference featuring no one-loss teams. The two-time reigning champions have ridden their defense this season (and in 2023, for the most part), with the Steve Spagnuolo-led group providing Kansas City’s offense a sturdy safety net.

The Chiefs have gone about strengthening a receiving corps that has been lacking since the Tyreek Hill trade, acquiring DeAndre Hopkins, and they are still believed to be looking around for more help before the deadline. Andy Reid‘s team is also expected to have its top running back ready before month’s end.

Reid has praised Isiah Pacheco‘s recovery from a broken fibula, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates the Chiefs are expecting their top back to be ready to return in late November. This would actually be on the conservative end, as Pacheco’s mid-September surgery brought a six- to eight-week timetable. The Chiefs have been able to get by with Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine as their top options, but unlike Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown, Pacheco will be a piece they are expected to have back during the regular season.

A 2022 seventh-round pick, Pacheco usurped former first-rounder Clyde Edwards-Helaire as Kansas City’s starter before his rookie season concluded, and the Rutgers alum has been the team’s starter since. He played 17 games as a rookie and 14 last season, playing in each Kansas City playoff contest during that span as well.

While the Chiefs moved on from Jerick McKinnon as their primary pass-catching back, Perine is in place thanks to an agreement shortly after his Broncos release. Hunt has also proven capable, despite not being on the level he was before his 2018 release. Hunt has surpassed 20 carries in each of the past three games, reaching 102 yards during a win against the Saints in that span. Hunt should be expected to retain a role once Pacheco is back, but the third-year player should also be penciled in as the Chiefs’ starter once he ramps back up from the injury he suffered in Week 2. Known as a hard-charging rusher — and one with rather unusual running form — Pacheco has 830- and 935-yard rushing seasons on his NFL resume. He also accumulated 313 rushing yards during the playoffs last season.

With the Chargers exiting Week 9 with three losses, the Chiefs have some breathing room in their division and within the conference. That should allow for caution with Pacheco, who is signed through the 2025 season. But Kansas City should have its preferred RB1 back in the fold as it attempts to secure home-field advantage in the AFC for the fourth time in the Patrick Mahomes era.

Chiefs Sign RB Keaontay Ingram From Practice Squad

Kareem Hunt‘s return to Kansas City may not come with an immediate return to the team’s active roster. The Chiefs first chose to bump up one of their current practice squad running backs.

Keaontay Ingram is now on the defending champions’ 53-man roster, while Hunt is officially on their practice squad. Ingram joins Samaje Perine and rookie UDFA Carson Steele on Kansas City’s active roster.

Initially catching on with the Chiefs’ P-squad in late November of last year, Ingram was originally a Cardinals sixth-round pick in 2022. The Cards selected Ingram in Steve Keim‘s final draft as GM but waived him midway through last season, Monti Ossenfort‘s first running the front office. Ingram played in 20 games with Arizona, logging 62 carries for 134 yards and a touchdown in limited duty. Ingram has not played in a regular-season game as a Chief.

Hunt can be elevated from the practice squad up to three times, but as a vested veteran, the former rushing champion can move back and forth to the Chiefs’ P-squad and 53-man roster — should the team take this route after the elevation period ends — up until the day after the trade deadline. Players of all experience levels are subject to waivers following that point. Hunt, however, should probably be expected to move to the Chiefs’ 53-man roster and stay once his elevation period ends.

The Chiefs are in this bind because Clyde Edwards-Helaire landed on the reserve/non-football illness list before Isiah Pacheco‘s fibula fracture. Andy Reid said the team’s starter is undergoing surgery today. Pacheco is aiming to return at some point during the season’s second half. Additionally, the Chiefs signed linebacker Cole Christiansen from their practice squad and officially announced Pacheco’s IR move.

Chiefs To Place RB Isiah Pacheco On IR

2:53pm: Pacheco is set to undergo surgery this week, per Rapoport. The outcome of that procedure will determine the timeline for his recovery, which Schefter’s colleague Jeremy Fowler adds is currently six to eight weeks. An IR stint will take place, but Pacheco should be available to return later this season.

10:56am: The Chiefs improved to 2-0 on Sunday, but their offense suffered another blow on the injury front in the process. Running back Isiah Pacheco was in a walking boot and using crutches after the contest, and he is facing a notable spell on the sidelines.

[RELATED: WR Marquise Brown To Miss 2024 Season]

X-rays taken yesterday indicated Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Further testing will take place today to determine the full extent of the injury, but in any event a multi-week absence is in store. ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds Kansas City is expected to place Pacheco on injured reserve.

An IR stint would require at least a four-week stint on the shelf, but Schefter notes Pacheco could very well be out longer than that. A long-term absence would hinder Kansas City’s running game given the former seventh-rounder’s importance to the team. Pacheco emerged as the lead back during his rookie campaign, and he played a key role in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run. That remained the case last year, when the 25-year-old racked up 1,179 scrimmage yards and nine total touchdowns during the regular season.

Expectations were high for another productive Pacheco campaign in 2024, but his injury will leave the team in need of a new backfield option. Kansas City retained former first-rounder Clyde Edwards-Helaire during the offseason on a one-year deal. He was placed on the reserve/NFI list to begin the season, however, sidelining him until at least Week 5. The Chiefs lost veteran pass-catcher Jerick McKinnon during the spring, but the team filled that void with the addition of Samaje Perine. The latter could take on an increased workload beyond third-down duties with Pacheco no longer in the picture.

Undrafted rookie Carson Steele rounds out the Chiefs’ backfield as things stand. Steele impressed during training camp and the preseason, but he has received only nine carries through the first two weeks of the campaign. That could change during the time Pacheco misses, particularly on early downs and in the redzone. However the team’s backfield shakes out, though, Pacheco’s absence will be acutely felt.

The Chiefs have just over $6MM in cap space at the moment, less flexibility than most other teams. That could limit Kansas City’s ability to make an outside addition via the free agent market. Veteran Keaontay Ingram and undrafted rookie Emani Bailey are in place on the team’s practice squad, and at least one could be promoted in the event Pacheco were to go on IR.

NFL Injury Updates: Bell, Herbert, Armstead, Rodgers, Vea, Pacheco

The Browns were able to escape Duval with their first win of the year but saw wide receiver David Bell carted off the field in the third quarter. According to Josh Alper of NBC Sports, head coach Kevin Stefanski told the media that Bell had been diagnosed with a dislocated hip.

While surely a painful situation, Bell seems to have avoided a more serious outcome. Despite leaving the field on the cart, Bell will be able to fly home with his teammates and seek treatment in Cleveland.

Here are updates on a few other injuries from around the NFL this week:

  • On a big day for the Chargers, there was a moment of worry when quarterback Justin Herbert got “rolled up” in the game, per Kris Rhim of ESPN. Los Angeles performed an x-ray on their starting passer, but more tests will be necessary to determine the extent of Herbert’s injury. The 26-year-old was noticably limping after the game.
  • While the notable injury in Miami on Thursday night was clearly that of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, left tackle Terron Armstead was also notably absent from the second half of the Dolphins‘ loss to Buffalo with a shoulder injury. In an update the next day, head coach Mike McDaniel clarified that Armstead avoided the worst-case scenario and would be returning “sooner than later,” per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. There was initially some fear that the injury could be a season-ending ailment, but it seems Armstead’s absence will only a couple weeks at most.
  • After sitting out the entire 2023 season due to a gambling suspension, Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers missed the team’s 2024 season opener with a hand injury. This week, we found out from Rodgers that his hand was broken on the last day of training camp when a teammate went to punch out a ball and punched his hand instead, according to Andrew DiCecco of 975TheFanatic. His hand is improving, and he has returned to practice.
  • Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea suffered a knee injury in today’s win over the Lions. Following the game, it was reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that Vea is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain. The veteran lineman will undergo further MRI testing tomorrow to determine the severity of the injury, but the team is optimistic.
  • Lastly, from the afternoon slate of games, Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco suffered an ankle injury in the team’s walk-off win over the Bengals today. Per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, Pacheco is set to undergo tests and x-rays on his ankle. The team was extremely cautious with the young rusher, though, as he was seen leaving the stadium on crutches and in a walking boot.