KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Guard Ben Grubbs’ season is officially over.
(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
The Chiefs placed guard Ben Grubbs (neck) on injured reserve and elevating rookie center Daniel Munyer from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster.
Grubbs, whom the Chiefs acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Saints in March, has been dealing with a neck injury. The former two-time Pro Bowl selection suffered the injury in Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and hasn’t practiced or played since.
“We’ve gone four or five weeks here with rehabilitation; he hasn’t improved,” head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder said. “He’s going to need at least another month or two to come back from this thing. So with Coach (Andy Reid) and (general manager) John (Dorsey), we decided as a group to put him on injured reserve.”
Grubbs will stay with the Chiefs through the end of the season to rehabilitate, Burkholder said.
Meanwhile, the 6-1, 305-pound Munyer provides depth at the center position when considering rookie center Mitch Morse is recovering from a concussion suffered in Week 12’s win over the Buffalo Bills.
Munyer first joined the Chiefs in May as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado. He spent organized team activities, minicamp and training camp with the team and signed with the practice squad on Sept. 5. The Chiefs waived Munyer on Oct. 13 before bringing him back Monday.
Munyer said he spent the past month working out at Colorado, and he is confident his past time with the Chiefs will help if he is called upon to see action.
“If I wasn’t, I highly doubt I’d be here right now,” Munyer said. “I think that gave me a pretty big advantage in that aspect. They trust me to make calls and direct the offense, and be there if something happens.”
The Chiefs are likely to start Zach Fulton in Morse’s place if Morse can’t play Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
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Herbie Teope is the lead Chiefs beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and The Topeka Capital-Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @HerbieTeope.
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