Kansas City Chiefs move second-year DT Omarr Norman-Lott to Reserve/PUP list, opening roster spot for Marcus Harris
The Kansas City Chiefs will have to wait until Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers at the earliest to get Omarr Norman-Lott back on the field.
The Kansas City Chiefs will be without second-year defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott for a little while longer.
Norman-Lott, listed at 6-foot-3 and 315 pounds, will begin the 2026 NFL season on the reserve/PUP list as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in Week 7 of the 2025 season. His placement on the reserve/PUP list opened up a roster spot for defensive tackle Marcus Harris, who has made the 53-man roster per ESPN’s Nate Taylor. He was a standout in training camp and had an “over my dead body” game in preseason Week 3.
Norman-Lott, the Chiefs’ 2025 second-round pick out of the University of Tennessee, sat out the entirety of training camp. He was on the Active/PUP list while working his way back from the season-ending knee injury. Norman-Lott’s ACL tear came during Kansas City’s Week 7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, putting an end to a rookie campaign that had already been marred by injury. He missed Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers due to an ankle injury and missed Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars due to a shoulder injury.
In his limited action during the 2025 season, Norman-Lott played 73 defensive snaps, recording five tackles, a tackle for loss, and a sack.
What the reserve/PUP list means for Norman-Lott
The reserve/PUP list rules are as follows. Norman-Lott cannot participate in practice. He can, however, attend team meetings and do any rehab work at the team facilities. After two weeks, he can return to practice. A new rule this season allows teams to open the 21-day practice window after just two weeks. They can then designate them to return from the PUP list after four weeks have passed.
Those four weeks mean Norman-Lott’s earliest possible game would be Week 5. However, that’s the Chiefs’ bye week. That means the earliest he can possibly return to game action is Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium.
What comes next for the second-year defender?
The verdict is out on Norman-Lott. It’s unclear whether he can rise to the occasion and become productive after this injury. He’ll have continued work to do in Kansas City to get on the field and contribute.
The good news is that the Chiefs don’t have to rush him back now that he’s on the Reserve/PUP list. There likely isn’t a hurry to get him back out on the field, and he can take his time to get his body right for whatever portion of the upcoming season he can participate in. All ACL injuries are different, and it typically takes larger players on the offensive and defensive lines a longer time to recover from such injuries.
