KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs have received tough news. Rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, which will keep him out of action for the rest of the season.
The injury occurred during Sunday’s resounding victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Norman-Lott, selected in the second round of the draft, was injured at the end of the third quarter. He fell to the turf while pursuing the Raiders’ rookie running back, Ashton Jeanty. On the play, left tackle Stone Forsythe fell on Norman-Lott, committing a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.
The visibly affected player was assisted off the field by his teammates Patrick Mahomes, Nohl Williams, and Ashton Gillotte.
Before the injury, the Chiefs were planning to increase Norman-Lott’s playing time in the coming weeks, hoping he would become a key player in pressuring the quarterback, alongside Chris Jones and George Karlaftis.
In his first five professional games, Norman-Lott recorded five tackles and one sack. During the preseason, the Chiefs also suffered another significant loss on the defensive line: defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, a first-round pick in 2023, was placed on the injured list in August due to a right hamstring strain.
Without Norman-Lott, the Chiefs’ already reduced defensive tackle group is even more weakened. Currently, the team only has three players in that position: Jones, Jerry Tillery, and Derrick Nnadi.
The Chiefs are expected to try to acquire a veteran defensive tackle via trade before the NFL trade deadline, which is November 4th.
Currently, the Chiefs have $5.5 million in salary cap space.
