Kansas City Chiefs centre Rodney Hudson out for the rest of the season – NFL News
Kansas City Chiefs’ chances of being competitive in the American Football Conference (AFC) West dealt another blow as their centre Rodney Hudson was put on Injured Reserve (IR) list on Wednesday, September 26, 2012.
Hudson was diagnosed to have a broken bone in his left leg. He got injured in Chiefs’ stunning 27-24 Week 3 win against New Orleans Saints on Sunday, September 23.
Chiefs offence is in deep constraint as many of their players are injured and unavailable. Head coach Romeo Crennel gave the details of Hudson’s injury and said:
“The way it looks, it's going to be several weeks with him. There's a broken bone, but it doesn't require surgery. He's got to be off it for several weeks, and then several weeks with crutches, so it's going to be most of the season."
With injury to Hudson, Chiefs will have to play with guard Ryan Lilja at centre while rookie Jeff Allen will play at left guard.
The news about the severity of Hudson’s injury came just a day after Chiefs had put their starting cornerback Jacques Reeves on IR list.
Although Lilja was limited in practice on Wednesday, Crennel said that he would be available for Chiefs’ Week 4 game on Sunday, September 30. The coach has shown full confidence in the veteran to replace Hudson. Crennel said:
"I thought Lilja did an excellent job (against New Orleans), to tell you the truth. He had shotgun snaps with no quarterback-centre exchange problems in there. I thought Allen did a nice job, coming in and playing really for the first sustained time."
In order to strengthen the offence, Chiefs have signed offensive linemen Bryan Mattison and Russ Hochstein.
Hochstein has previously played under Crennel during his time at the New England Patriots. He has played 10 seasons in the league and is a vastly experienced player.
The injury comes as bad news for Hudson, who was drafted by Chiefs in the second round (55th overall pick) of the 2011 draft. He was initially drafted to replace 15-year veteran Casey Wiegmann.
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