Chiefs Place Juan Thornhill and Martinas Rankin On PUP List
The Kansas City Chiefs placed safety Juan Thornhill and offensive tackle Martinas Rankin on the physically unable to perform list on Friday.
As soon as they pass a physical, the pair can be activated from the list and be eligible to participate in activities.
Thornhill suffered an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament in the season finale against the Chargers last year. He underwent surgery to repair his ACL on Jan. 14.
In his rookie year, Thornhill recorded 56 tackles, five pass breakups and three interceptions.
On Tuesday, the Chiefs signed former Seattle Seahawks safety Tedric Thompson, seemingly preparing themselves for Thornhill's placement on the PUP list.
During a video conference with reporters Thursday, safety Tyrann Mathieu said he wants Thornhill to make sure he is healthy before he fully returns.
"I would probably say my hope for Juan is obviously that he takes it easy, and he doesn’t put any extra stress on himself," Mathieu said. "He plays for a good football team, and I think we have the ability to play late into the season. Him being a young guy, I think the most important thing for him is his health. So, as long as he can kind of keep that in front of him, being anxious to play, I think he will make the right decisions."
Rankin injured his patella in November and finished the season on the injured reserve. The 25-year-old played in six games with five starts last season.
With the opt-out of right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Rankin is expected to compete for the starting vacancy.
Right tackle Mitchell Schwartz said Rankin played well in the time he was in and is looking forward to seeing him compete for a spot this upcoming season.
"Rankin played great last year," Schwartz said. "I was really excited to see him keep progressing. It was a bummer, my injury kind of made him get hurt as well because he had to move to right tackle. I hope to see him healthy."
