HappyDays

Whereas I'm hoping they are saving our $10M in cap space for a mid-season WR trade. Metcalf and Hopkins are the two I have my eye on. Safety isn't going to be the position that determines our Super Bowl chances. We need our passing offense to be capable of steamrolling teams, and as of today I don't think that's likely.

After reflecting on it for an entire day, I feel less concerned by this news than most. For several reasons: 1) The biggest reason is one that's been sifting through my head for months now, which is that I don't really care all that much about the defense... Milano was on the field for our first two Chiefs playoff matchups, and our Bengals playoff matchup. What good did that do us? No defensive player has been a difference maker for us in a post-wildcard game, Milano included. So I just can't bring myself to care. 2) Milano is our best defensive player but he's a WLB. That is not a position that really changes the game script. It's almost like having an elite RB. It's nice but it isn't going to be the main reason you win a championship. If you can't overcome it with talent at more premium positions, you were never a championship team to begin with. 3) I'm kind of excited to see Dorian Williams get his opportunity. Our run defense specifically I think will be even BETTER with him on the field. I'm worried that he is going to be lost out there in pass coverage at times, but baptism by fire might be just what he needs to get acquainted with NFL speed and processing. He has all the physical talent in the world, McDermott and Babich just need to get him to a baseline level on the mental side of the game. Plus, Williams was likely to get meaningful starting reps at some point this year no matter what, given how injury prone Milano has been. With him now being the day one starter we won't have to suddenly throw him on the field without warning halfway through the season in a critical game. Get his feet wet and let him grow into the role. 4) Worst case scenario we have plenty of replacement level depth options ready to take over the job and none of them are named AJ Klein. This goes back to point 2 - it's just a WLB... You can get by with replacement level play at the position. The narrative on the season hasn't changed at all with this injury. The season will still come down to more consistent defensive coaching from Babich/McDermott, the pass rush actually showing up when it counts, and most importantly Brady and the offensive weapons proving they can support Allen enough to deliver a top 5 offense. Those were the most important factors one month ago and they're still the most important factors today. Milano was an added bonus, not a fundamental piece of the puzzle.

Groot is legit an elite edge setter though. He has a claim as the best run stopping EDGE in the entire NFL, since his rookie season really. Sure that's not exactly what you're hoping for from a 1st round EDGE so hopefully the pass rush production improves, but he is much more impactful than Shaq Lawson ever was. The NFL at large will probably value him more than you think when he hits FA. Being able to shut down run plays on an entire side of the field isn't sexy but it's very valuable.

Updates from Matt Parrino:

Hardy has really been coming on lately. Seems like a great find in the 6th round.

ProFootballDoc is somewhat of a hack but I'll take any positive news I can get at this point.

At least Beane had some foresight to take Bernard and Williams in consecutive drafts. Good example of how quickly team needs can change. At the time both players were seen as redundancies on the roster and the picks were questioned for it. Now they are both starting. This is why you always draft BPA.

Spector is always dealing with something too. He's looked pretty good when he gets on the field but can't rely on him.

At least there's a chance of a return. Dorian Williams is going to have to step up big time. He looked lost against the Bears. I guess if that experiment fails, Spector can be a steady but low ceiling option.

Fingers crossed it is only partially torn. I believe that would put him in line to possibly return late in the season.

I was told torn bicep

He has a presser at 12:30 in advance of the Steelers joint practice.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I've heard it's bad and likely a long term injury. I don't know exact details though.

He really didn't though. MVS was a bust of a signing and was roundly hated by Chiefs fans for his laughably bad hands. Toney was a net negative on the team whenever he was on the field. Sky Moore has been a bust. It's a total myth that QBs transform WRs into someone they're not. Elite QBs can elevate the production of a WR but they can't make them better than they are.

Sounds like potentially a high ankle sprain.

Sure, why not.

Looks like Addison is fine.

Jesus...

The tweet is talking about pass plays only... It wouldn't include any Allen runs or even scrambles. No surprise at all that we rank low in that hyper specific scenario with I would assume a very low sample size. We don't have Andy Reid drawing up easy button shovel passes and we didn't have any contested catch specialists last year. FWIW we ranked 4th in red zone TD% last year at 63.89% (KC ranked 19th at 51.25%). Boiling that down to just within 3 yards of the goalline and just on pass plays is going to create some funky results.

Out for the season: Feel really bad for the kid. Not to make light of it but this should help increase our 2nd round pick from the Vikings.

8.5 when you remove kneeldowns.

FWIW Kyle Trimble (Banged Up Bills) considers Thigh Doctor to be a hack who relies on baseless speculation more than true medical reasoning. His whole thing is putting out the most extreme worst case scenarios and profiting off of the views. I wouldn't take him too seriously. Banged Up Bills is the reliable account.

Despite the eyeroll reactions you're not wrong. Especially at LB. We should expect Milano and/or Bernard to miss time, it's part and parcel of their body type. IMO keeping 6 LBs is a must. Can't have a situation like the divisional round arise again. Milano, Bernard, Williams, Spector, and Ulofoshio are essentially locks, but I would 100% keep whoever looks better between Morrow and Jones too.