Chiefs move Spencer Ware to injured reserve; Xavier Williams added to 53-man roster

The Kansas City Chiefs placed running back Spencer Ware on injured reserve Wednesday, ending his season. Ware tore his rotator cuff in the Chiefs’ game against the Chicago Bears last Sunday, according to Terez Paylor of Yahoo! Sports.

December 25 marked the deadline for the Chiefs to activate defensive tackle Xavier Williams from injured reserve, and they did, using Ware’s spot to do so. The Chiefs originally placed Xavier Williams on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain back in October.

The club announced the roster moves on Twitter.

The Chiefs signed the 28-year-old Ware earlier this month, and head coach Andy Reid quickly reintegrated him into the lineup. Ware had previously played for the Chiefs from 2015-18. Ware received more than 35% of the Chiefs’ snaps during his three games, accumulating 17 rush attempts for 51 yards and 5 receptions for 22 yards.

On Tuesday, Reid discussed the Chiefs’ running back situation, which included Ware, along with Damien Williams, LeSean McCoy and Darwin Thompson as part of a committee.

“They’re all different flavors,” said Reid. “Every guy is a little bit different. [Ware] gives you that physical, down-hill type. He’s a good protection guy. There is not a lot of flash, there’s just good, hard-nosed football.”

Reid was also asked about whether Xavier Williams would be activated this week.

“There are a bunch or things that go into it,” said Reid. “Brett (Veach) weighs all of that out. I kind of stay out of that mix of it. He has to juggle a bunch of different things with that. That’s kind of what he does. We’ll see. We know that he is a good player and gives us quality depth there. That’s one of the things that Brett keeps in mind.”

Veach ultimately decided to bring Xavier Williams back with the roster spot open. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had been rotating Xavier Williams in for about 45% of snaps when he was injured Week 5.