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KC Chiefs: Dontari Poe Out Indefinitely After Back Surgery

By Alec Tilson

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The Kansas City Chiefs got some mighty bad news about nose tackle Dontari Poe.

KC Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe had back surgery and will miss the entirety of training camp, according to the Associated Press‘ Dave Skretta. Poe could also end up missing regular season games.

Poe injured his back initially working out this offseason, but was recently training at home in Memphis, Tennessee and re-aggravated the injury. He had surgery July 15th and will be out indefinitely, according to Skreta’s report published on The Washington Post’s website.

It’s a punch in the stomach for Chiefs fans and the Chiefs defense. Poe was a workhorse for the 2014 Chiefs and, entering his fourth season with the team, established himself as a centerpiece of a talented defensive front.

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In the past two seasons, he’s been on the field an outrageous percentage of the time for a guy who is 6-foot 3-inches and 340-odd pounds.

Sounds like that could take a toll on your back.

The Chiefs are already down cornerback Sean Smith for the regular season’s first three games, so this is a worrisome development for the team. If Poe can not return healthy for the first stretch of games, there will be some serious holes to fill on the defense.

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Poe has missed just one game in his three-year, 47-game career. He’s started from the day he was drafted and has been as reliable as anyone for the Chiefs over that span. He’s not yet 25 years old.

In April, the Chiefs exercised the 2016 option on Poe’s contract, according to ProFootballTalk.com, and the Chiefs can work on a long-term deal with Poe until he would become a free agent at the end of the 2016 season.

He was a Pro Bowler in 2013 and 2014, and there’s no reason to think he won’t earn a long-term deal from the Chiefs.

On the bright side, it’s probably a positive that Poe underwent surgery before the season. If this hit the Chiefs in Week 8, the effects could have been a lot worse.

If his recovery goes well, it seems reasonable that he could return to full health in the early part of the season.

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