Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco Heads To IR With Broken Fibula

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco suffered a broken fibula in the team’s last-second victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Pacheco burst onto the scene in 2022 as a seventh-round pick and rushed for 935 yards last season, becoming an integral part of the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl titles. In 2024, he already rushed for over 100 yards.

Ian Rapport reported that Pacheco underwent successful surgery and that his timeline should be around six to eight weeks, but head coach Andy Reid did not specify when Pacheco would return.

“I can’t give you a time when he’ll return. We’ll just see if it’s this season or next season. We’ll see how he does as he goes here.”

To fill Pacheco’s absence, the Chiefs are turning to a variety of different backs. Undrafted rookie Carson Steele surprisingly made the Kansas City 53-man roster and has nine carries for 27 yards through two games. Another option could be veteran Samaje Perine, who signed with the team in the off-season from the Denver Broncos but has not made a rushing attempt yet this season. The team also signed Kareem Hunt from free agency, who became a household name in Kansas City during the 2018 season before being released for off-the-filed issues and signing with the Cleveland Browns. Reid defended his decision to bring Hunt back into the fold on Wednesday.

“He needed a change of scenery and get some help and take care of business there. We felt like he did that. He did a nice job in Cleveland and we talked to people there, and there were no issues there. We felt okay by bringing him back, he’s 29 years old now. It looks like he’s grown up some.”

The Chiefs beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night football, starting the 2024 season 3-0 for the first time since 2020.