as City Chiefs HC On Monday, Andy Reid didn't wear his Santa suit to meet with the media, but he did give everyone in the Chiefs Kingdom a gift.
Starting running back for the Chiefs, Isiah Pacheco, has been out for two weeks with a shoulder injury that needed surgery to fix. He is expected to return for Christmas Day's Week 16 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
"It wasn't the muscle," added Reid. "He'll be back next week. This week, he'll be fine. As of now, everything has been going well for him, unless something else goes wrong.
Really, the guy who did the surgery gave him the all-clear last week. It was just a matter of being careful."
Pacheco is crucial to the offense, so the team wanted to be cautious in rushing him back. They want him for the playoff win-or-go-home games next month despite having three games left in the regular season.
Reid stressed that Pacheco's return to practice includes full contact clearance and a Sunday game. "I think he'll play this week (against the Raiders)," he stated. "He should be ready. He needed that authority to do that."
While Clyde Edwards-Helaire's arrival has been good, Pacheco's return will increase his teammates' enthusiasm and ground game productivity.