An old friend might be part of the solution to Chiefs’ big problem following season-ending knee injury for Omarr Norman-Lott
Could the Kansas City Chiefs pry Khalen Saunders from the Jacksonville Jaguars?
The Kansas City Chiefs have a big problem to solve after rookie DT Omarr Norman-Lott suffered a torn ACL in Week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders. After the team places Norman-Lott on injured reserve, they’ll have just three defensive tackles on the 53-man roster. While the rookie didn’t play an outsized portion of snaps to this point of the season, he was giving them about a dozen good snaps per game on defense, and his opportunities were only beginning to ramp up.
So, who will replace him? In the interim, signs point to practice squad players like Marlon Tuipulotu, Brodric Martin, and Zacch Pickens to pick up the slack. However, the Chiefs are also actively monitoring players around the league, as the NFL trade deadline approaches on Nov. 4. Could an old friend be part of that solution?
The Jacksonville Jaguars traded O-Lineman Luke Fortner to the New Orleans Saints for DT Khalen Saunders after the two teams faced off during the preseason. Saunders appeared in the Jaguars’ Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers, but has since been a healthy scratch in each of the prior games for Jacksonville. It’s reasonable to think that Saunders could be traded again by the Jags despite being traded once this season already.
Former Chiefs DT Khalen Saunders seems to be feeling nostalgic for one Kansas City staple
On Monday, Oct. 20, Saunders sent a message that everyone who has ever called Kansas City home can relate to. He opined about their star BBQ dish: Burnt ends.
Khalen Saunders Chiefs’ History Quick Facts
Saunders was a third-round pick out of Western Illinois in the 2019 NFL Draft. He played four seasons in Kansas City, appearing in 38 regular-season games with five starts. He recorded 85 total tackles, three tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and 10 QB hits during that span. He was part of the Super Bowl LIV team, but left the Chiefs in 2023 to join the New Orleans Saints in free agency.
“Whoever invented burnt ends… Thank you,” Saunders wrote on X. “That shit the perfect cut. Like lil bbq meat nuggets.”
Now, this might just be the inane thoughts of a hungry big man who is from St. Louis, Missouri. At the same time, it’s hard not to pick up on the fact that burnt ends originated at Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City. It feels like too much of a coincidence for him to send this message just hours after the team learned the fate of their second-round rookie defensive tackle. This could be nothing, but I choose to believe it’s Saunders throwing up metaphorical BBQ smoke signals to the Chiefs’ brass to come and save him from the purgatory he finds himself in as a healthy scratch with the Jaguars.