The Kansas City Chiefs will be without one of their stalwart protectors on the offensive line in Super Bowl LV.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirmed on Monday that LT Eric Fisher suffered an Achilles injury in the win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game. The team is still evaluating his injury, but it’s clear that he won’t play in the Super Bowl.
“He’s got a torn Achilles tendon,” Reid told reporters of Fisher’s injury on Monday. “And they’re observing now exactly how bad, what needs to be done here and how soon.”
The team jumbled up their starting offensive line during the game when the injury to Fisher occurred. They shifted right tackle Mike Remmers out to left tackle, then they moved right guard Andrew Wylie over to the right tackle spot. Wylie had actually started one game at right tackle for the Chiefs earlier this season against the New Orleans Saints in Week 15. Still, Reid credits the coaching staff for getting these guys ready to play multiple positions.
“Yeah, well he went to right tackle and Remmers went to left tackle,” Reid said. “It was a pretty seamless move there for him, but they practice that during the week. [Chiefs OL coach] Andy Heck does a great job of maneuvering people around and giving them opportunities to play all the different positions.”
If you’re one of the many hoping for starting RT Mitchell Schwartz to come waltzing in as a savior, Reid doesn’t seem optimistic that will be the case for Super Bowl LV.
“Yeah, listen I can’t even tell you that, I don’t even know how optimistic I am about that,” Reid said. “The other guys are doing a nice job and we should be able to be OK there with the guys that we have, who will step in. If Mitch (Schwartz) can work it out to where he can go, that’s great. There’s nobody that wants to be there more than him. But I just can’t tell you that I’m that optimistic about it.”
Reid, however, doesn’t seem to be too concerned about his offensive line in the absence of Fisher. He trusts the job that Chiefs GM Brett Veach has done, bolstering the talent along the offensive line all season long.
“This is where Brett (Veach) comes in,” Reid said. “His thought of bringing Wiz (Stefen Wisniewski) here and then he steps in at guard. He’s experienced and he’s done that at all these different positions where — I don’t know — he doesn’t miss a beat. (Brett Veach) is always a step ahead and making sure that he covers his bases, so that’s much appreciated by the coaches and I know the players have a ton of respect for him too.”
One of Veach’s best moves this offseason was to bring in veteran Mike Remmers. It looks like he’ll now start games at three different positions this season as he’s likely to slide in at left tackle for Super Bowl LV.
“Yeah, listen, he’s dirty tough,” Reid said of Remmers. “I joke, he’s like a throwback. He is Redbeard, he breaks out his sword and he’s ready to go. So I appreciate him and his toughness and he’s a smart kid. He’s really fit in well with the whole program here.”
No matter what, the Chiefs’ offensive line is going to look much different than it did in Week 1 of the NFL season. Heck, it’ll look different than it did in the AFC title game. Reid is confident that players will be able to step up, step in and perform as necessary in the absence of Fisher. That’s what they’ve done all season and they’ll continue the tried and true method into the postseason.
“Listen, they’re some talented guys,” Reid said. “In some cases, we’ve had some young ones step in. You know, one of Missouri’s finest [Yasir Durant] and again, we’ve had some older guys step in. But that combination has been able to get us through some games here and most of all, I think the quarterback trusts them as do the running backs and there’s good communication. I wouldn’t slight the fact, though, of how Andy (Heck) tends to it. How he moves people around, plays to those guy’s strengths with the run game. It’s just a great situation.”
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