Why Chiefs’ Carson Steele appears to be next man up after Isiah Pacheco injury

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid left a lot of possibilities open with his running back rotation Wednesday after the team placed starter Isiah Pacheco on injured reserve with a broken fibula.

The most likely scenario, though, seems to be this: Rookie Carson Steele will get the first chance to step into Pacheco’s starting role Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

“It’s a great opportunity for him,” Chiefs running back Samaje Perine said about Steele. “I think he’s gonna make the most of it.”

It would be quite a story. Steele, an undrafted free agent out of UCLA, impressed the Chiefs in camp to earn his spot on the 53-man roster.

And though he’s listed as a fullback for the Chiefs, Steele was used as a high-volume running back plenty in college. His sophomore year at Ball State, he had 20 or more carries in 10 of his 12 games, and that was before he had a 30-rush game with UCLA against Washington State.

When asked Wednesday if he’d embrace a workload like Pacheco had with the Chiefs — Pacheco had 19 carries Sunday against the Bengals — Steele said, “For sure.”

“You hate when you see a guy go down, but you’ve got to step up and be the next guy,” Steele said. “So if that happens to come this game, I’m going to take it proudly, work on my mistakes and go from there.”

It’s worth noting that Reid didn’t rule out a few scenarios for Sunday, even if they seem unlikely.

One would be newcomer Kareem Hunt playing Sunday. The 29-year-old, just signed to KC’s practice squad, practiced Wednesday with the Chiefs for the first time since 2018.

Though Reid said there was “a chance” KC could elevate Hunt this week, it didn’t seem probable. Reid said Hunt would start the week primarily on scout team while coaches evaluate him.

“As the game gets closer, we’ll see how things go there and so on,” Reid said. “But we’ll try to get him in a position where he’s ready to play either this week, next week or the following week. We’ll just see how long it takes.”

Perine also could see more usage. The veteran running back, signed after Denver released him last month, was brought to KC to serve as a third-down back with strengths in pass protection and catching the ball out of the backfield.

On Wednesday, Perine said that Reid hadn’t spoken to him about his role changing with Pacheco out.

“We know that we all have to step up, not only on the field, but leadership-wise as well,” Perine said. “We know what Pop (Pacheco) meant to us on the sidelines and in the locker room and everything. So I feel like it has to be our job to carry that load.”

The Chiefs also elevated running back Keaontay Ingram from the practice squad. That move doesn’t seem like it would’ve happened if KC anticipated Hunt would be ready for Sunday’s game.

Reid complimented Ingram for having “a really good camp for us.” The 24-year-old played in 20 games for the Arizona Cardinals from 2022-23.

“If you’re moved up, you’re expected to be ready to play,” Reid said. “And I think he’s done that. He’s worked hard on the scout team part of it, stayed in tune with the offense.”

The Chiefs could have Clyde Edwards-Helaire available in Week 5, too; he’s currently on the non-football injury list while working through post-traumatic stress disorder.

Add it all up, and it seems most likely that Steele is about to get a one-week tryout to see how well he can take on Pacheco’s duties.

The 21-year-old is coming off a shaky performance. Steele lost a fumble in the second quarter Sunday against the Bengals — a development he said was difficult to get past.

“I was trying to hold myself down in that in that game, but all the coaches, the veterans came up to me: ‘You’ve got to forget it and keep moving on,’” Steele said. “That helped me get that extra couple of third-and-1 conversions, stuff like that, after the fumble.”

Perine described Steele as a “perfectionist” who “likes to do everything right.”

“So if he does do something wrong, he gets in his own head,” Perine said. “And Coach Reid does a great job at just letting him go out and play and have the opportunity to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, but still have the opportunity to go out and play.”

Steele’s running ability was evident in the preseason when he carried it 11 times for 87 yards. Steele received Pro Football Focus’ third-highest run grade in that period, while also tying for fourth among all rushers with nine missed tackles forced.

The primary emphasis this week will be ball security, with Steele saying he needs to be “more sound” with details like holding the ball tighter to his body.

“Some things that I can work on,” Steele said. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary. Ball-carriers make mistakes; they’re holding the ball out a little looser to their chest than normal. So just got to fix that and get ready for next week.”

Steele smiled when asked about the potential of being a starter in his first NFL road game. He said it “would mean everything” if that did take place.

“Just coming from the Cinderella story, being an undrafted guy, stuff like that,” Steele said. “But if it doesn’t happen, I’m just gonna keep taking the role I have and get all the running backs to work in there. Whatever we can do to have the team success.”