Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco is set to miss several games with his fractured fibula suffered during Sunday’s win over the Bengals.
But at this point, head coach Andy Reid does not have a timeline for his return.
“I know it won’t be this week, and it’ll probably be more than that, obviously,” Reid said in his Monday news conference. “It’s going to take a little bit of time here.”
Pacheco is a major factor in the Kansas City offense, getting 24 touches during Sunday’s win over Cincinnati. While that makes Pacheco difficult to replace, at least for now Reid is planning to roll with the running backs already on the Chiefs roster.
“[G.M. Brett] Veach is going through his list and looking at people, and we’ll just see where that goes,” Reid said. “But we’re blessed to have some good people here.
“I would tell you I have confidence in them. I just haven’t experienced it with them.”
The Chiefs currently have Samaje Perine and fullback Carson Steele on their 53-man roster with Emani Bailey and Keaontay Ingram on the practice squad. Steele, a rookie out of UCLA, finished Sunday with seven carries for 24 yards but did have a critical lost fumble.
“Well, he’s going to have to step it up there in that role. But I think he likes to be challenged,” Reid said. “I think this will be a good challenge for him. He’s obviously got to keep the ball high and tight — he had the fumble yesterday, and he doesn’t have a history of that. He’s got to make sure he learns from that.”
While Clyde Edwards-Helaire will miss at least the next two games on the non-football injury list, but he could also be a factor once he’s ready to return to play.
“That’s part of the equation,” Reid said. “So we’ve got to just figure all of that out and see how all that fits in. We know he’s around. So, we just don’t have him available for a couple more weeks here.”
