The Kansas City Chiefs might be winners of four out of their last five games and look like the Super Bowl contender we're used to seeing, but one glaring hole is catching the attention of fans everywhere.
Despite this defense coming off a shutout of the Las Vegas Raiders, there's a huge worry in the middle of that defensive line. In that win over Vegas, Chiefs rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott went down with a knee injury.
Now, it's been confirmed that Norman-Lott has indeed suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This is massive news for a Chiefs defensive line that is running out of options behind and next to Chris Jones.
The Chiefs must make a move before the NFL trade deadline to give Chris Jones a break
Jones is on the wrong side of 30 and his usage has been downright insane. Jones played 63 percent of snaps against the Raiders, which isn't the end of the world. But, it was a blowout. Jones didn't need to play a whole lot.
Now, if we look back at the previous week against the Detroit Lions, Jones played a whopping 81 percent of snaps. That's simply not sustainable for a guy of his age. Jones is best suited to play a lesser amount in order to keep him most effective when he's on the field.
Kansas City has Derrick Nnadi next to Jones, at the moment, and he's been one of the worst-graded defensive tackles in the league via Pro Football Focus. Say what you will about PFF, but there isn't much to argue about there.
Now, Kansas City has to rely even more on what some might call "the ghost of" Jerry Tillery.
Any L.A. Chargers fans reading this, by chance, might have just nearly vomited. Tillery is not the guy this defense wants to have to rely on now that Norman-Lott is out. He is a notoriously-awful run defender and isn't much better in the pass rush department.
With the news coming out about the Chiefs' second-round pick in 2025, it's now even more imperative that Brett Veach make a move before this year's trade deadline. This team needs it.
The Chiefs' next four games are against all teams who might be considered contenders: Washington, Buffalo, Denver and Indianapolis. At the very least, most would agree these four teams are playoff contenders.
It's time to make a move, Veach.