Chiefs DT Xavier Williams Sidelined With High Ankle Sprain
By Karl Rasmussen
The Chiefs lost their first game of the season to the Colts on Sunday, but the result itself wasn't the only L coming their way.
Kansas City lost star defensive lineman Chris Jones to a groin injury, and it's now being reported by insider Tom Pelissero that an MRI on nose tackle Xavier Williams' ankle revealed what's being described as a "pretty bad" high ankle sprain.
An MRI showed #Chiefs NT Xavier Williams suffered a pretty bad high ankle sprain in Sunday’s loss to the #Colts, source said. Those are typically 4 to 6 weeks, but IR is a possibility. With Chris Jones (groin) also to miss time, KC's front is banged up.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 8, 2019
That's certainly not good news for the Chiefs, as the ankle is expected to keep Williams out for 4-6 weeks. Pelissero suggests that a stint on injured reserve hasn't yet been ruled out, either.
That's two key defensive lineman going down in one game, and neither figures to be ready to suit up in Week 6, which bodes poorly for an already-weak KC defensive unit.
So far tonight the Chiefs have lost:
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 7, 2019
Chris Jones is out with a groin injury.
Xavier Williams is out with an ankle injury.
Anthony Hitchens is out with a groin injury.
Sammy Watkins is out with hamstring injury.
The Chiefs currently rank 20th in the league with 11 sacks, but they're at real risk of drifting even further following the losses of Jones and Williams.
With Williams set to miss at least a month, Derrick Nnadi will likely be called upon to play a bigger role. Nnadi, labeled as a starter, was on the field for just 40 snaps in Week 5, logging eight tackles, one sack and a forced fumble in an impressive showing.