Andy Reid Provides Injury Update on Frank Clark
The Kansas City Chiefs don't have to play in the AFC playoffs' Wild Card Weekend, as they earned the top postseason seed in the conference and have a first-round bye. That week of rest will help the entire team get healthier before a Divisional Round matchup against a to-be-determined opponent, and defensive end Frank Clark could benefit from the time off as much as anyone.
During Kansas City's regular-season finale against the Las Vegas Raiders, Clark exited the game with a groin injury and was originally ruled questionable to return. The team later downgraded him out for the remainder of the contest, limiting his overall impact to just one tackle in 17 snaps played. On Monday, head coach Andy Reid provided a brief update following the Week 18 win and said an MRI revealed what he described as a "minor" groin strain for his 29-year-old defensive lineman.
Reid was optimistic about Clark's chances of potentially returning for the Divisional Round in just under two weeks, echoing that same sentiment about wide receiver Mecole Hardman (who hasn't played since Nov. 6). This season, Clark has amassed 39 tackles with eight of them being for a loss. Additionally, he's logged five sacks, a forced fumble and a pass broken up in 15 games. While Clark hasn't quite lived up to the $13.3 million cap hit he has for 2022, he's still managed to play 69% of available defensive snaps and serve as a valuable starter on the outside of Steve Spagnuolo's front four.
The Chiefs, who finished second in the NFL in sacks as a team this season, will need Clark's production if they want to have a successful playoff run. Despite rookie George Karlaftis coming on strong in recent weeks and the duo of Carlos Dunlap and Mike Danna serving as strong depth behind him, the defensive end room is wholeheartedly the sum of its parts. It needs everyone to be healthy, available and firing on all cylinders in order to complement defensive tackle Chris Jones. If Clark isn't available for Kansas City's first playoff game, that will be a significant loss. Reid's update, however, leaves the door very much open for the possibility of no missed games.
