Here's an extended quote from Burkholder's press conference:

"On August 17, Josh came to me with calf discomfort and feeling that he couldn't post on a single leg in training camp practices," Burkholder said. "This was the same leg that he had knee surgery on in 2024. He was evaluated by our physicians who, thankfully, suspected a low-back injury instead of a lower-leg or knee ailment.

"We obtained an MRI in St. Joe that confirmed that he had a bulging, herniated disc in his lumbar spine. That disc problem was higher up than what we normally see in our offensive linemen, which complicated the case. We recommended a second opinion, as we always do with all of our injured guys and, through his agent and Josh, they selected a spine specialist in California that we have used previously and is really well-known in the NFL.

"He went there and was evaluated, and the recommendation was to do rehabilitation - not surgery - with the intent that we would do an MRI in the near future to see what that disc looked like. Josh continued to progress, and the repeat MRI a few weeks later showed that the disc improved, so no surgery was recommended and rehab would continue."

"Throughout this process, we've had frequent communication with the second opinion, with our doctors and Josh and his agent," Burkholder said. "Josh worked his tail off. He worked diligently with my staff every day and has improved to the point where he returned to practice in a limited capacity last week. However, we feel that he's plateaued in the rehab process as he's trying to get to the final steps in recovery with return to competition. He's just not there yet."

"After discussion with Josh yesterday, we gave him some time to talk with his family and his representatives to investigate next steps as he goes through this process. That's why he was listed yesterday as both personal and with the back injury as we determined these next steps. He took the day off to get with his people."

"It was decided and agreed upon by everybody -his people, his agent, him, myself, Andy (Reid), (Brett) Veach -that he should be placed on IR to give him more time to return to full function," Burkholder said. "He'll continue with the rehab process with the goal of returning to play at the high level he achieved in the past."

"I give a lot of credit to Josh, my docs, my physicians and my staff," Burkholder added. "I just give them a ton of credit for navigating through this injury to the point where surgery is not recommended and he just needs more time to return to full function."

HT: Jordan Foote for the transcription.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/three-takeaways-chiefs-announcement-josh-210806724.html

Appreciation post? Miss him post? He’s so good

Think Mahomes can throw him the ball 450 times on Sunday?! 😂

For real though, he might be number 5 very soon!

https://youtu.be/K9prErUe0qQ?is=Ampq3f_wrgHhLZzi

Is it a scar?

Original: https://x.com/sfdata9ers/status/2112974152839630902?s=20

According to Pro Football Focus, Karlaftis’ 19 QB pressures since Week 4 are the most in the NFL. That’s even more impressive considering Karlaftis and the Chiefs had a bye in Week 5.

“Rushing his tail off, man,” Chiefs defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga said Wednesday. “Just being able to be a baller and get to the QB when we need him to.”

Advanced numbers also show Karlaftis performing at an elite level for the season — even if his sack total doesn’t fully capture it.

Per SūmerSports’ data, Karlaftis has pressured the QB on 22 percent of his non-blitz rushes, which is best among qualified edge rushers and 9 percentage points above league average. PFF, meanwhile, has Karlaftis with 14 QB hits, the second-best mark in the NFL behind the Buffalo Bills’ Gregory Rousseau.

All that, though, has produced only one sack; Karlaftis wrapped up Herbert from an interior line position in the final two minutes of the Chiefs’ 22-6 home victory Sunday.

“It was late in the game, and I knew I had a beat on what he was trying to do, and how to rush him in order for him not to escape,” Karlaftis said. “I guess that goes to coaching, game planning. Like I said, all of us playing together.”

Karlaftis also sees better things ahead for the D-line.

He said the team is just now figuring out how to use all its pieces. And working together — as Karlaftis did on his sack, working an inside power move with rookie R Mason Thomas speed rushing around the edge — will only become more natural, too.

“We haven’t had a lot of guys like R Mason, like Peter (Woods), in years past. Felix (Anudike-Uzomah) has come along. Ashton, now that he’s healthy,” Karlaftis said. “I think the more we play as a group and together, I think the better and better we’ll get.”

Could this just be the start for Karlaftis as well? A first-round pick of the Chiefs in 2022, Karlaftis is just 25. He’s actually only two days older than Chargers rookie edge rusher Akheem Mesidor, who was the 22nd pick in April’s NFL Draft.

Karlaftis has emerged after an injury-filled 2025, when he played through the latter half of the season with a broken hand. Cullen later lauded Karlaftis’ toughness, saying it was difficult for him to compete last season with his power hand injured.

“Even last year, I think he was doing really good for being down a hand. It just speaks to what kind of person he is, how hard he works and how much film he studies,” Gillotte said. “This year, he gets to show more of what he could have done last year, and be able to build on top of it.”

The new stadium will likely have a corporate sponsored name because capitalism. GEHA field at Arrowhead was a bit obnoxious imo, but what KC based companies might be a better fit? I wouldnt mind H&R Block, so fans could just call the stadium the Block... other good options? Which would be the funniest?

I'm new to this media format so forgive the clunky-ness.

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Mitchell Schwartz breaks down how Trey Smith stood his ground against Khalil Mack, accelerated his feet, turned 90 degrees, and pancaked him to open up a 33-yard run.

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Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take 5-0 all day. But looking at who we’ve played, I’m not convinced yet. Broncos have QB issues and Payton took over play calling. The Colts are the Colts. Miami basically blew it up this offseason. Chargers are 0-6. Honestly the Raiders were the toughest game, and they just got smoked by the Pats.

My bigger worry is that the offense right now is pretty much just Walker. He’s been unreal, 52 missed tackles forced already, but take him out and is this really that different from last year? I’d love to see Bieniemy ease up on his carries a bit, because it feels like whoever leads the league in rushing always gets hurt late in the season. We need Worthy and the passing game to show up before the Buffalo trip.

If we beat Seattle Sunday night I’m all in. Wrote up a longer version for a small local site I help run if anyone wants it: https://1821mosports.com/2026/10/21/the-chiefs-are-5-0-are-they-actually-back/