In the fourth quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Black Friday showdown with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs benched starting left tackle Wanya Morris after a disastrous performance in KC’s latest nail-biting win over an apparently inferior opponent. Morris took the job following the late-game benching of rookie Kingsley Suamataia in Week 2, and the Chiefs have not been able to boast consistent left tackle play for any sustained period of time all year. However, help could be arriving sooner than previously expected.

Last week, the Chiefs signed former Arizona Cardinals left tackle D.J. Humphries following his medical clearance to return to football — an important milestone in his recovery from a late-season ACL tear suffered on December 31, 2023. After Friday’s meltdown from Morris forced the Chiefs to move left guard Joe Thuney to left tackle (also bringing backup lineman Mike Caliendo in at left guard), Humphries’s timetable to take over at left tackle appears to be speeding up.

During his press availability with the media on Monday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked what the plan will be for Humphries’s week of practice leading up to Sunday night’s showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers.

“We’ll work him in and see how he feels,” Reid said. “That’s the main thing. He hadn’t played in a while, so I just want to make sure he’s in good position. He did a nice job last week working in there, and we’ll do a little bit more with him this week.”

Could Humphries start on Sunday night? Reid said he’ll wait and see how the week progresses.

“Last week was a short week, so we didn’t have a whole lot of time for the fast part of the game, practices, and so this week I’ll have a better idea as we go, and he’ll have a better idea how he feels, then we just go from there.” Reid said. “We’ll just see how it all works out.”

Asked for confirmation that Reid and the Chiefs have not made a determination regarding who will start at left tackle on Sunday, Reid said that the team has not — with Humphries’s best interest in mind.

“I don’t think that’s probably fair to D.J. right now, just him coming off this offseason,” Reid said. “I think we just play it by ear as we go, and if he feels OK, then we give him an opportunity. If it’s not where it needs to be, then you don’t, so we’ll just see how it goes.”

If Humphries is not able to start against the Chargers, or if the team doesn’t think he’s ready for the role by game time, could the Chiefs start Thuney at left tackle after ending the game with him as Patrick Mahomes’s blindside protector against the Raiders?

“Well, that’s another one of the options that we’ve got,” Reid said. “We finished the game that way. I’d rather have Joe playing in at guard because he’s very good there, but Caliendo isn’t bad either, so that’s a good problem to have, but we’ve got some flexibility there as needed.”