Latest injury update on Chiefs rookie CB Trent McDuffie
The Kansas City Chiefs will be without rookie first-round draft pick Trent McDuffie for a minimum of four weeks, but a new report suggests it could be longer.
McDuffie was placed on injured reserve this past week following a hamstring injury suffered in the Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He must stay on the injured reserve list for a minimum of four weeks before he can be designated to return to practice and subsequently be activated by the team.
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According to a recent report from NFL Network's James Palmer, while the Chiefs are hopeful that the rookie will be back sooner than later, the injury could take closer to six weeks for McDuffie. They're in wait-and-see mode in terms of how he progresses in his recovery.
At a minimum, we know McDuffie will miss games against the Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Las Vegas Raiders, after already missing Thursday's game with the Los Angeles Chargers.
If he's out for six weeks, he'll also miss an important Week 6 contest with the Buffalo Bills and the Week 7 tilt with the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs would then break for the bye week in Week 8 and McDuffie would presumably be back in action for Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans.
Jaylen Watson has done a fine job filling in for McDuffie so far, even scoring the game-changing play in Week 2. That said, it'd sure be nice for Kansas City to have their top draft choice back ahead of that big game against Buffalo in Week 6.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was critical of the State Farm Stadium field turf after Week 1 against the Cardinals. He mentioned that the turf might've played a role in McDuffie and others sustaining injuries.
"It was a little loose," Reid told reporters after Week 1. "That's what happens sometimes when you re-sod. It's part of the Butker injury and the McDuffie injury, and that's unfortunate. The turf picked up, and I would tell you that did have something to do with it. If it didn't, I'd tell you that, too. It's not an excuse by any means. But you all see it when you watch the tape."
McDuffie is in his first season with the Chiefs after being drafted 21st overall in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Washington.
Paste BN Sports+ producer Jaylon Thompson contributed to this report.