Andy Reid gives update on Chiefs’ offensive line heading into playoff game vs. Browns
The Chiefs will play the Cleveland Browns in their AFC Divisional Round playoff game Sunday without right tackle Mitchell Schwartz.
Schwartz remains on injured reserve with a back injury and isn’t physically ready to be designated as return to practice.
“Backs are fickle, man, and so he’s not going to be back this week,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday. “We’re literally taking that day by day.”
The Chiefs have been without Schwartz, a first-team All-Pro selection in 2018, since he played eight offensive snaps in Week 6. Schwartz then missed three games before landing on injured reserve in Week 11.
Before being declared as out for Week 7, the 31-year-old Schwartz put together an impressive iron-man streak of 134 consecutive career starts.
“There’s nobody — nobody — that wants to play more than this guy,” Reid said emphatically. “You know how he’s wired. I mean, you don’t play in all the games he played in a row and not enjoy the game, but he physically can’t do that right now.
With Schwartz on the mend, the Chiefs have relied on veteran Mike Remmers to fill the void at right tackle. Right guard Andrew Wylie moved to right tackle in Week 15 when Remmers missed time with his own back injury.
Remmers projects to continue starting as long as Schwartz, who is widely regarded as one of the NFL’s top right tackles, remains out.
But if the Chiefs advance to the AFC Championship Game, which is scheduled for Jan. 24, could Schwartz return to the lineup and help another run at the Super Bowl?
While Reid didn’t give a definitive response to such a scenario, the door appeared to be left slightly ajar for such a scenario.
“We’ll just see how it goes down the road,” Reid said. “I don’t think anybody has lost hope in that. Sometimes, time is an important thing here.”
