Chiefs OT Lucas Niang won’t be starter when activated from Reserve/PUP

© Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports After opting out of the 2020 NFL season, Niang saw his first playing time with the Chiefs in 2021. It was actually his first time going through a normal offseason too as his opt-out came well before training camp. He was effectively a rookie, though, he had some extra time to get the playbook under his belt. To kick off the offseason Niang was running with the second-team offense until Mike Remmers suffered a back injury that sidelined him for the majority of training camp and the preseason. Niang stepped in for Remmers and was the team’s Week 1 starter. Niang earned starts in five consecutive games to start the season and saw high praise from his position coach. However, in Week 6 the team turned back to veteran Mike Remmers. The decision gave some hesitancy about whether Niang was deserving of the starting job. Ultimately, it was revealed that a minor hamstring injury to Niang was what caused the Chiefs to shift to Remmers. Niang returned to the starting lineup in Week 8, but his return wouldn’t last. Niang missed three weeks and the bye week due to a rib injury suffered against the Packers in Week 9. He wouldn’t return until Week 14, where he saw limited snaps against the Las Vegas Raiders. In Week 15, he started at right tackle against the Los Angeles Chargers, but he’d miss the following week due to a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the team. In Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Niang started at left tackle due to a last-minute injury to Orlando Brown Jr., but his debut on the left side was cut short. On his sixth snap, Niang suffered a torn patellar tendon, ending what was technically his rookie season and putting him on a long road to recovery.

Kansas City Chiefs third-year offensive tackle Lucas Niang is expected to make his return from the Reserve/PUP list this week.

Niang suffered a knee injury in Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season and has been working his way back ever since. He was designated to return to practice on Nov. 2, opening up a 21-day window for the team to opt to activate him to the 53-man roster. That window expires on Wednesday, Nov. 23 and at that time Kansas City will need to make a decision. They can choose to activate him or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

Asked about Niang’s pending return on Monday, Chiefs HC Andy Reid had some positive news. While he hadn’t yet conferred with Brett Veach on his activation, he believed that Niang was ready to return. There was one caveat, though. The former third-round draft pick won’t be returning to the starting lineup, at least not right away.

“Yeah, I’ll talk to (General Manager) Brett (Veach). I haven’t talked to Brett today, but we’ll talk on that and just see where we’re at with that,” Reid said. “But, (Lucas Niang has) made some nice progress over the last couple of weeks. And I’m not telling you he’d be the starter, but I think he’s ready to get in, probably, the two-deep. We’ll have to talk to the kid (Lucas Niang), too.”

Right now, it sounds as if Andrew Wylie will remain the starter at right tackle, with Niang providing depth at that spot moving forward. Wylie suffered an elbow injury that forced him out of the Week 10 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he played every snap in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Niang started nine games at right tackle in 2021, replacing both Andrew Wylie and Mike Remmers at various points of the season. He opted out of his rookie season in 2020, so his NFL experience is rather limited to this point. It makes sense to not rush him back into anything, especially coming off of this serious knee injury.

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