Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides concerning update on DE Ashton Gillotte after latest training camp injury
There’s reason to believe that a short-term IR stay will be necessary after Kansas City Chiefs DE Ashton Gillotte suffered a ruptured plantar fascia earlier this week.
Kansas City Chiefs HCAndy Reid provided a potentially concerning injury update as training camp wrapped on Thursday, Aug. 20.
He spoke to media members about the team’s injury situation, providing an update on two of the latest players to leave practice injured. Reid spoke about the injuries in relation to the upcoming preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including whether players would suit up and play.
“As far as injuries go, Jack Cochrane and (Chamarri) Connor tried it today. We backed off them; they will not play. (Jeff) Caldwell hyperextended his knee; he won’t play. (Ashton) Gillotte has a plantar fascia that ruptured, and he won’t play. (Jeff) Holiday won’t play, and (Josh) Simmons and Trey (Smith) won’t play on the offensive line. The rest of the guys will get up and have an opportunity to get out there and do some things, and we’ll just see how playtime goes as we go through this.”
Ashton Gillotte’s injury is probably the most concerning of the bunch. Jeff Caldwell’s hyperextended knee is also concerning, but it makes it easier to stash him on injured reserve. For Gillotte, he’s a key piece of the team’s plans for the upcoming season, and this injury, depending on the severity, could impact how quickly he sees the field.
Chiefs DE Ashton Gillotte could be a short-term IR candidate with ruptured plantar fascia
Gillotte missed some time at training camp with a hamstring injury. Shortly after returning to practice, Gillotte suffered an apparent injury while tackling tight end Jared Wiley. FOX 4 Kansas City’s Taylor Burr captured video of Gillotte holding the back right of his foot as he walked gingerly to the medical tent.
We now know the injury is a ruptured plantar fascia. Whether it’s a partial or full tear, the severity will likely determine his return to action. Having had a partially ruptured plantar fascia myself, I know that I would have been better off with a fully ruptured plantar fascia as far as pain management. In the NFL, players can sometimes play through a fully torn plantar fascia. If it’s partially torn, he could miss as many as six weeks of action as he recovers.
You might recall that in the 2015 NFL season, Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning was forced out of a game against the Chiefs because of a ruptured plantar fascia. He ended up missing six weeks of the season due to that injury. These are different players, a decade apart in medical advancements. However, that’s a good baseline for what Kansas City could be dealing with here. It’d stand to reason that a bigger player, who is often pushing off his foot to rush the passer, could take even more time to recover.
If it’s a partial rupture, my guess is that Gillotte misses the next three weeks of preseason and practice work leading up to the regular season. From there, the team will decide whether a short-term IR stint at the start of the season. If it’s fully torn, he could be out there playing in Week 1. A surgical solution could mean he’s out until early November.
Update: According to ESPN’s Nate Taylor, the Chiefs’ initial evaluation puts Gillotte’s recovery at three weeks. If that’s truly the case, it’s possible he’s available to play in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL Season against the Denver Broncos.
Gillotte’s absence puts pressure on Kansas City’s edge depth
My understanding is this isn’t a long-term injury or something that would end Gillotte’s season. However, he’s missing valuable practice time in a year when he was looking to take a major step forward. He’s listed on the team’s unofficial depth chart as the starter opposite George Karlaftis. This simply makes the need for Felix Anudike-Uzomah, R Mason Thomas, and Emmanuel Ogbah to step up even greater.
As for the 23-year-old Gillotte, he’ll have some work to do to get himself back healthy and right for the regular season. The Chiefs will need those depth pieces to hold down the fort in the meantime, and how Reid manages the rotation could be worth monitoring throughout preseason.
