The Chiefs have already added help at defensive end, but the injury news coming out of St. Joseph is still enough to raise eyebrows.
On Thursday, the final day of Kansas City’s training camp, Andy Reid gave the clearest update yet on Ashton Gillotte, saying the second-year defensive lineman has been dealing with a ruptured plantar fascia. The injury happened during Chiefs practice on Tuesday, and Reid said the team is treating the various camp ailments as “ nicks and bruises,” per Matt Derrick.
That might sound reassuring on the surface, but the timing makes it hard to shrug off completely. The Chiefs have only 10 days before they need to start sorting out the final 53-man roster, and their season opener against the Denver Broncos is just over three weeks away. That leaves a pretty obvious question hanging over Gillotte’s availability.
Gillotte was Kansas City’s third-round pick out of Louisville in the 2025 NFL Draft, part of a young wave of defensive line additions across the last two draft classes. He was drafted alongside Omarr Norman-Lott a year ago, and this year’s class brought Peter Woods of Clemson and R Mason Thomas of Oklahoma into the mix.
The Chiefs saw Gillotte’s role grow as last season went on. He developed into a more complete edge setter and became a dependable run defender, eventually playing the bulk of the snaps by the end of the year. His snap share climbed from an average of 39 percent from Week1 to Week 11 to 58 percent from Week 12 on.
By the end of the season, Gillotte had earned the Mack Lee Hill Award, which goes to the Chiefs’ top rookie performer. He finished with 38 total tackles, 10 pressures, 1 interception, and 1.5 sacks in 17 games.
Earlier this spring, Gillotte spoke about his frustrations from last year and his desire to keep improving. George Karlaftis also praised the way he kept growing from week to week. Kansas City was counting on Gillotte to help handle work opposite Karlaftis while R Mason Thomas developed, and the team also has Felix Anudike-Uzomah back after a season lost to injury.
The recent signing of Emmanuel Ogbah gives the Chiefs some cushion, but that move was meant to supplement the group, not replace Gillotte. If he has to miss a game or more, the edge-rusher room suddenly looks a lot thinner, and another addition would make sense while he recovers.
For now, the hope is that Reid’s read on the injury is accurate. Since Gillotte was hurt two days ago, the team has had some time to get a better handle on the situation. Still, nobody around Kansas City wants to see him rushed back and risk turning a short-term issue into something far more serious.
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