KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An injury-riddle 2017 campaign for Chiefs center Mitch Morse came to end Friday when the placed the third-year starter on injured reserve with a sprained left foot.
Morse originally suffered the injury during the team’s Week 2 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Morse missed the next five games but returned for the Week 8 win over the Denver Broncos. Morse played five more games before re-aggravating the injury against the New York Jets in Week 13.
Kanas City Chiefs center Mitch Morse could return to action in Week 8 against the Denver Broncos after missing five games with a sprained foot. (Photo courtesy Chiefs PR, Chiefs.com)
The timing of Morse heading to injured reserve ends his season. Morse must spend at least eight weeks on injured reserve, a timeframe that extends beyond the NFL postseason.
Morse played 31 games during his first two NFL season. He missed just one regular season game with concussion at the end of his rookie season. That injury also kept him out of the team’s two playoff games.
The Chiefs selected Morse from Missouri in the second round of the 2015 draft. His rookie contract comes with one more season with a base salary of $1.047 million and a total salary cap hit of $1.486 million.
The club promoted cornerback Keith Reaser from the practice squad taking Morse’s spot on the active roster. San Francisco selected Reaser in the fifth round of the 2014 draft from Miami. He played 29 games for the 49ers during three seasons with the team. He collected 30 tackles along with five passes broken up and two forced fumbles.
Kansas City shuffled its practice squad this week after the promotion of Reaser and safety Leon McQuay. The rookie from USC replaced safety Steven Terrell, who went to injured reserve following surgery for a dislocated finger.
The team added three players to is practice squad:
- Offensive tackle Dillon Gordon spent most of the last two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. He signed with the club as an undrafted free agent from LSU. The 6-foot-4, 322 tackle played one game with the Eagles last season. He spent this year on the team’s practice squad until his release last week.
- Offensive lineman Kaleb Johnson, who signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent after the 2015 draft. He spent most of the 2015 team with the Ravens on both the active roster and practice squad before signing with the Browns. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman from Rutgers has yet to play a regular season game.
- Linebacker Tyrone Holmes, a 6-foot-2, 253-pound defender from Montana, was a 2016 sixth-round draft pick for Jacksonville. The Browns claimed Holmes off waivers after the preseason and he split time between the club’s active roster and practice squad until the Browns released him earlier this week. Holmes played 15 games for the Browns, collective six tackles and a sack.
The Chiefs lost offensive lineman Damien Mama from the practice squad. The New York Giants signed the undrafted rookie from USC to their active roster. The Chiefs also released former Missouri defensive lineman from the practice squad. The flurry of moves leaves the Chiefs with one open practice squad spot.
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Matt Derrick is the lead beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @MattDerrick.
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