Kansas City Chiefs' Joe Mays is having wrist surgery

While the Kansas City Chiefs recently got good news with Jamaal Charles returning to practice (albeit with the scout team), there is some not so good news regarding linebacker Joe Mays and his injured wrist. Adam Caplan reports that Mays' wrist injury will require surgery.

#Chiefs ILB Joe Mays is going to have wrist surgery, source said. He suffered the injury during last week's game at the #Panthers.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) August 21, 2014

I can confirm the report as well. Mays hasn't practiced all week. It's not clear how long it will keep him out, which is obviously what everyone wants to know. It's fair to wonder about the start of the season since that's just a few weeks away on September 7. A quick Google search shows a range of players who played briefly through broken wrists to those who missed a month or more. So we'll just have to see what the Chiefs say.

Behind Mays is linebacker Josh Mauga, who was just signed the first week of training camp, and 2013 fourth round pick Nico Johnson. Mauga, who has recently dealt with injuries himself, appears to have the edge in that battle running with the second team over Johnson. You have to wonder if this injury gets Nico Johnson onto the roster as well.

This isn't ideal for the Chiefs defense. Mays was brought in this offseason on a 2-year contract and immediately stepped in as the starting inside linebacker next to Derrick Johnson. This will be a step backwards at that position for the Chiefs ... if Mays ends up missing any meaningful time, which we still don't know.