Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes gets the best possible news about his pass protection in Week 14 vs. Chargers
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes will have a new player protecting his blindside in Week 14's "Sunday Night Football" game against the Los Angeles Chargers.According to multiple reports, the Chiefs are expected to start LT D.J. Humphries, who joined the team as a free agent exactly fourteen days ago upon doctor's clearing him to return […]
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes will have a new player protecting his blindside in Week 14's "Sunday Night Football" game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
According to multiple reports, the Chiefs are expected to start LT D.J. Humphries, who joined the team as a free agent exactly fourteen days ago upon doctor's clearing him to return from an ACL injury. Humphries originally injured his knee in Week 16 with the Arizona Cardinals last season.
The decision to start Humphries comes after the Chiefs benched two left tackles this season due to poor performance. In Week 3, they sat rookie left tackle Kinglsey Suamataia for second-year left tackle Wanya Morris. Just last week, frustrations boiled over with Morris' struggles, leading to a series with Joe Thuney kicking out from guard to play left tackle.
Now, the team will turn to a veteran in Humphries, who will make his 100th career NFL start with Kansas City. He brings experience to the table, which is something the team has sorely lacked at the left tackle position this season. Humphries allowed a pressure rate of just 4.9% during the 2023 NFL season with the Cardinals. He allowed just four sacks and nine penalties. Those numbers are markedly better than what Suamataia and Morris have combined for in Kansas City this season.
The immediate hope is that he'll be able to afford Mahomes some extra time to deliver accurate throws to Xavier Worthy and others in the deep passing game. There's also something to be said about what he can teach Morris and Suamataia about playing left tackle. The long-term hope might actually be that Humphries proves himself worthy of a long-term contract extension, which is something he's looking for after losing out on the opportunity to cash in due to his injury in 2023.
In general, Kansas City has struggled to find a long-term solution at the left tackle position. Orlando Brown Jr.'s tenure didn't last, and Donovan Smith turned out to be a one-year stop-gap. Could the 31-year-old Humphries be the player they're looking for to stabilize the position? We'll begin to find out the answer in Week 14.
Chiefs could lure former draft pick from retirement for Super Bowl LIX run
A reunion in the works?
