Kansas City Chiefs LT Eric Fisher will miss Super Bowl with achilles injury
Reports confirm that Kansas City Chiefs starting left tackle Eric Fisher will miss the 2021 Super Bowl after suffering a torn achilles. Fisher went down late in the Chiefs Championship weekend win over the Buffalo Bills, and Andy Reid suggested he would miss significant time after the game.
According to reports from Ian Rapoport, Eric Fisher "faces a long road of recovery."
Eric Fisher played 1048 offensive snaps this season, and allowed just three sacks all year. Fisher was only penalized three times in 2020, and the former first overall selection in the NFL Draft had one of the best seasons of his career in 2020.
Eric Fisher graded out as one of the best offensive tackles in football this year, according to Pro Football Focus. A 80.0 overall grade and strong pass (76.2) and run (72.7) blocking grades helped strengthen a Kansas City Chiefs offensive line that was without LG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif all of this year. Duvernay-Tardif missed all of 2020 as he, a medical school graduate, returned to Canada to assist with COVID-19 relief and treatment in the medical field.
Who will replace Eric Fisher for Kansas City Chiefs?
With Eric Fisher out, the Kansas City Chiefs have multiple options to fill the LT role. They don’t, however, have a plug-and-play backup left tackle and will likely have to shuffle around multiple positions on their line.
With starting RT Mitchell Schwartz also injured for the Chiefs in the post season, Mike Remmers has been starting at RT, and is the most likely candidate to fill in now for Fisher. Remmers would move across the line opening up a spot at right tackle where Stefen Wisniewski or starting RG Andrew Wylie would likely fill in.
Remmers has had a strong season in 2020, posting a 70.1 overall PFF grade, but he will be matched up against a strong Buccaneers pass rush that includes Ndamukong Such, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Shaquil Barrett.
One positive injury news for the Kansas City Chiefs is that QB Patrick Mahomes, who progressed through concussion protocol and battled through a turf toe injury, will likely have a clean bill of health in two weeks to try to repeat as Super Bowl champion.