The Kansas City Chiefs revealed a 53-man roster move ahead of Week 8, following the Omarr Norman-Lott injury news on October 20.
âWe have placed DT Omarr Norman-Lott on Reserve/Injured. We have signed Practice Squad player CB Kevin Knowles to an active roster contract,â the Chiefs announced on October 21.
Knowles, 22, is an undrafted rookie who emerged throughout the spring and summer, only to earn three immediate practice squad elevations from Week 2 through Week 4.
Although Knowles is a cornerback and nickel DB by trade, the rookie has done well to impress special teams coordinator Dave Toub. For that reason, 100% of his NFL snaps so far have come on special teams.
Within an organization like Kansas Cityâs, that show of trust can reveal a great deal. Not only does Knowles provide energy and juice, but heâs also likely a very intelligent, hard-working, and polished youngster if heâs caught the eye of Toub and head coach Andy Reid this early.
Omarr Norman-Lottâs Rookie Season Is Over as Chiefs Make IR News Official
GettyKansas City Chiefs rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott.
There is no sugarcoating it, losing Norman-Lott to a torn ACL hurts. The Chiefsâ interior defensive line depth was very thin going into draft season earlier this spring.
Then, KC revealed their master plan, spending a second-round selection on the Tennessee product. And Norman-Lott lived up to the hype throughout training camp and the early season.
Despite only registering 1.0 sack and 1 tackle for a loss over his first 5 games, Norman-Lott plugged a hole on the Chiefsâ D-line, and he had been doing his job well for a rookie. The hope was that heâd continue to develop as the season progressed, eventually turning into Chris Jonesâ right-hand man on the interior.
Now that development will be halted for the remainder of this season, and potentially, most of next yearâs spring and summer program.
In the meantime, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach must also replace Norman-Lott, which he has yet to do.
Chiefs Beat Reporter Calls for âReinforcementsâ Ahead of Week 8
Yesterday, on October 20, Chiefs Digest beat reporter Matt Derrick posted a call to action after hearing the Norman-Lott news.
As noted above, Veach must add some more defensive tackle help in the coming weeks. The first roster move after Norman-Lottâs injury, Knowlesâ promotion, ignores this need. But the Chiefs likely have another transaction or two up their sleeve.
Kansas City only has Jones, Derrick Nnadi and Jerry Tillery left on the active roster at D-tackle, although Mike Danna and Malik Herring can help out inside in certain situations.
They also have DTs Zacch Pickens, Brodric Martin and Marlon Tuipulotu on the practice squad. And you can expect that one or two of them will be elevated for Week 8, assuming no one else is signed to the active roster between now and Monday night.
Of the three, Martin has already been elevated once in 2025 (but did not appear in the game), and Tuipulotu has been elevated twice. That means Tuipulotu can only be elevated one more time before he must join Knowles on the 53-man roster.
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