The Kansas City Chiefs officially placed rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott on the injured reserve list on Tuesday after he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 7 against the Raiders. Not only is this a devastating blow for the rookie defender, who will be losing important developmental time, but it is also a huge loss for the Chiefs in a position of dire need.

The interior defensive line has been a weakness for the Chiefs all season, with Derrick Nnadi and Jerry Tillery struggling immensely and Chris Jones getting off to a slower-than-usual start. The team was slowly integrating Norman-Lott into the rotation, and the rookie was in the midst of his best game of the season per Pro Football Focus when he suffered the unfortunate injury. His absence meant that Nnadi and Tillery played more snaps against the Raiders.

Chiefs Make Confusing Roster Move Instead of Replacing Omarr Norman-Lott

Many Chiefs fans understandably assumed that the team would use this opportunity to add more depth to their defensive line rotation. Instead, the team announced that they were signing practice squad CB Kevin Knowles to the spot on the active roster opened after Norman-Lott landed on the IR. This comes as a surprise since the Chiefs don’t have any injuries that we know of in their defensive backfield.

The Chiefs have already elevated Knowles three times to the active roster in the first seven weeks of the season, highlighting how highly the coaching staff thinks of him. This is especially true for special teams coordinator Dave Toub, since the 22-year-old defensive back has exclusively played ST snaps so far. The fact that the Chiefs are out of temporary elevations for Knowles must be the impetus for the signing.

This could also signal another incoming move. The Chiefs have a healthy and deep rotation in their defensive backfield, and Knowles may find it hard to crack the rotation as things stand now. That could change if the Chiefs make a move at the trade deadline.

The Chiefs have three defensive tackles on the practice squad. Marlon Tuipulotu, Zacch Pickens, and Brodric Martin are all veteran DTs who could have been signed to the active roster instead to provide much-needed depth to the interior defensive line. The fact that Knowles was brought on instead suggests that the Chiefs may not be done dealing.

There roster imbalance on the defense. The run defense remains a problem, and the lack of depth on the interior defensive line is certainly not going to help. Whether GM Brett Veach and Andy Reid have plans to address this problem remains to be seen.