Any injury news is bad news, but some are tougher to take than others. So while the Kansas City Chiefs are going to enjoy the ensuing hours following a total shellacking of the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, the team will also carefully monitor several injury concerns in the hours and days to come.
The Chiefs steamrolled their AFC West rivals in Week 7 to improve to 4-3 on the season, but they're leaving Arrowhead wondering about the health of multiple players on both sides of the ball. Fortunately, the Chiefs put away the Raiders so early that Gardner Minshew was seen in the third quarter, which meant K.C. could lessen the load at positions affected.
Here's a list of Chiefs players who were ailing in Week 7 and what it means for the road ahead.
Omarr Norman-Lott, DL
The list of any injury concerns for the Chiefs in Week 7 begins with the most severe—at least from what it looks like, given game-day updates. Omarr Norman-Lott left the game with a knee injury late in the third quarter and headed to the sidelines. He was originally designated as questionable to return, but the Chiefs shifted that to "out" before the end of the Raiders game.
Patrick Mahomes among those helping Omarr Norman-Lott off the field pic.twitter.com/dwqpgcf30f
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 19, 2025
After the game, head coach Andy Reid stated that Norman-Lott would undergo an MRI, so nothing is conclusive yet, but the formula of "knee plus MRI" can lead to devastating results. That remains to be seen here.
While Chiefs Kingdom hopes for good news for Norman-Lott, the truth is that the position of defensive tackle was already the single greatest need on the roster. Reporter Dianna Russini said that general manager Brett Veach was already looking for interior help before the league's trade deadline, and now there might be some real urgency applied to the search, depending on how things look for the Chiefs' rookie tackle.
Trey Smith, OL
Trey Smith, the Chiefs' star right guard, left the game with lower back pain fairly early and was replaced by Mike Caliendo. The Chiefs didn't need to press him for any playing time given the one-sided nature of the game, but Smith's status is going to be a major question for the team looking ahead to the Washington Commanders in Week 8.
Nothing was made known about Smith's condition immediately after the game, but Andy Reid will undoubtedly be facing questions in the next 24 hours knowing his importance to the offensive line. Caliendo is the presumed starter if Smith needs time off, but that's a steep drop for an offense that's turned on the jets in recent weeks.
Jawaan Taylor, OT
Speaking of offensive line injuries, Jawaan Taylor, the Chiefs' starting right tackle, also left the game with a shoulder injury in the second half versus the Raiders. He was listed as questionable to return. The good news here is that Reid stated that Norman-Lott was the only real injury of note, so it seems safe to assume the Chiefs will have Taylor on the right side going forward.
A quick aside is important here, however: the Chiefs are already missing left tackle Josh Simmons, who is dealing with a personal matter away from the team. That leaves them depleted at the tackle position, with Jaylon Moore stepping in on the left side. Any further issues for Taylor will complicate things for K.C.
Other injury notes
While Reid insists everyone else was okay, it's worth noting that a couple of offensive players came out of the game for a stretch and asked for some attention from the Chiefs' medical/training staff. Both running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver Xavier Worthy were on the sideline for a stretch, so those are further injuries to watch as well.