Kansas City Chiefs: Dontari Poe Expected to Miss Season Opener

As team facilities begin to open and the sound of pads thumping rings across cities and towns, the slew of injury news so closely concealed in front offices slowly begins to leak out. Unfortunately for Chiefs fans, Pro Bowlers Dontari Poe became the first of many to have his name announced. According to multiple media reports, Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl Defensive Tackle will miss all of the Chiefs training camp and likely not be ready to start the Chiefs 2015 season. The lineman underwent surgery last week on a herniated disc, which originally occurred during the Chiefs’ voluntary offseason program last month. Poe reportedly aggravated it at home earlier this month and had surgery to correct the issue last week.

Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder spoke at a press conference at the teams training camp facility earlier today to explain Poe’s injury and the estimated recovery time:

"”He’s not doing a whole lot of rehab or treatment. He’s just resting…I’ve told the coaches we won’t talk about any more activity with Dontari until we get out of training camp.”"

Head Coach Andy Reid also spoke with the media today regarding Poe’s situation, but was quick to point out the team’s strong depth at the position. Reid announced Jaye Howard, who started ten games in 2014, would get the first team reps. Sixth round pick Rakeem Nunez-Roches will also get an opportunity to showcase himself, as will Mike DeVito.

In his three seasons in the NFL, Poe has earned two Pro Bowl selections and is coming off arguably his best season yet. He had six sacks in 2014 against more aggressive double teams and assignments than he usually faces. He has 10.5 career sacks and 109 tackles in his young football career with the Chiefs. The sack-happy Chiefs of 2014 landed themselves in the leagues top five with the deadly forces of Poe, Justin Houston Derrick Johnson, and Tamba Hali among others.

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