KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With Nick Bolton on injured reserve after wrist surgery and Willie Gay Jr. ailing after injuring his tailbone in last week’s loss at Denver, the Kansas City Chiefs shored up the linebacker position with a familiar face.
The Chiefs signed Darius Harris on Wednesday off the Las Vegas practice squad.
Harris, an undrafted free agent from Middle Tennessee State in 2018, spent five seasons with the Chiefs.
He didn’t see the field the first two seasons, but he carved out a role during the last three seasons primarily on special teams.
“It’s good for us,” Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub said. “... We needed a guy. We definitely needed to get a linebacker in the building. He’s a guy that knows us, he’s smart, he knows what we do and I trust him on special teams to be a player for us and plug him right in.”
Harris played 11 games in 2020 and 2021, totaling 15 tackles and a fumble recovery.
He then appeared in all 17 games, including four starts, last season, finishing with 43 tackles, three tackles for a loss, 1 1/2 sacks, a fumble recovery, and two quarterback hits.
“The one good thing about Darius is that he was here,” Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “... What we knew right from the beginning ... was that Darius was a very cerebral linebacker. He’s very smart, so I think he’ll pick up things quickly. If we got stuck in a situation where he had to go, at least we know he’s had parts of the system before.”
The Raiders waived Harris with an injury during training camp before adding him to the practice squad last week.
Running back Jerick McKinnon (groin) and Gay (lower back) missed practice Wednesday, according to the team’s official injury report, but both were expected to work Thursday.
It remains to be seen if Gay will be available Sunday when Kansas City plays Miami at 8:30 a.m., a game that can be seen on KSHB 41, in Frankfurt, Germany.
“We’re not sure where Willie’s at right now,” Spagnuolo said.
Drue Tranquill has taken over at middle linebacker in Bolton’s absence, while Leo Chenal and Jack Cochrane figure to see an increased role if Gay is limited.
Now, Harris is also in that mix.
“I feel confident in the guys we’ll put out there,” Spagnuolo said.
The Chiefs said running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness) is the only player on the active roster who was not expected to practice before the team flies to Germany later Thursday afternoon.
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