Heading into Sunday's game, the Kansas City Chiefs were giving tackle Wanya Morris a shot at redemption. After failing the last time he earned a chance at starting reps, the former third-round pick got another opportunity, with the playoffs on the line. But that has been cut short, with ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reporting that Morris' knee injury on Sunday Night Football was season-ending. Not only does this end his 2025 season, but it puts a serious question mark around his Chiefs future heading into the offseason.
The Chiefs are going to be committed to rookie Josh Simmons, who has been great when he has been able to stay on the field. Jaylon Moore has similarly been solid when forced into action. But moving from Jawaan Taylor could be an easy cap-saving option, which still opens the door for Morris to stick around in a backup role.
But the injury, and the room it's given for undrafted rookie Esa Pole to make his mark, could leave Morris fighting an uphill battle to even get that job.
Chiefs Could Move on From Tackle Wanya Morris After Season-Ending Injury
Heading into the fourth year of his rookie contract, Morris was robbed of an opportunity to lock up a depth role. He was a long-shot to ever start again, barring injuries ahead of him, but now even on an affordable contract he might simply not be worth even taking up a roster space.
It's not like he hasn't had chances to prove himself, playing over 1,000 snaps across his first three seasons. But he's struggled just about any time he's played meaningful snaps in a game, and most worrying is that he hasn't shown much season-over-season improvement. Next season he'll be turning 26 years old and coming off a serious injury, and those obviously aren't factors that would help his potential development. PFF grades don't capture the full story, but they do line up well with what Chiefs fans have seen in this case:
Season | Snaps | Grade |
|---|---|---|
2023 | 340 | 55.6 |
2024 | 732 | 53.9 |
2025 | 66 | 57.1 |
Releasing Morris would only save about $1.5 million against the cap next year, but having an open roster spot would be the real value. It would allow the Chiefs to either go with a more reliable backup (especially if they move on from Taylor as well) or to roll the dice on a rookie with more long-term upside than Morris.
This won't be the end of the road for his NFL career — returning from even serious knee injuries is commonplace these days — but his chance at turning things around probably won't be coming in Kansas City.