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          Shortage of offensive linemen gets critical for Chiefs

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          • Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff WriterOct 6, 2017, 07:25 PM
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            • Covered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
            • Joined ESPN in 2013
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          KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- One injured offensive lineman in Sunday night’s game against the Texans in Houston would send the Kansas City Chiefs into uncharted territory.

          The Chiefs declared two starting offensive linemen, guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and center Mitch Morse, out for the upcoming game. Duvernay-Tardif injured his knee in Monday night’s win over Washington while Morse sprained his foot in a game last month against Philadelphia.

          That leaves the Chiefs with seven healthy linemen. But one of them, Cam Erving, hasn’t played on offense this season after arriving in a preseason trade, and the other, Parker Ehinger, hasn’t played at all after having his 2016 season cut short by a knee injury.

          So the Chiefs wouldn’t be quite sure what they would be getting if either Erving or Ehinger has to play.

          One of the two could wind up starting in Duvernay-Tardif’s spot at right guard. The Chiefs used veteran Jordan Devey as Duvernay-Tardif’s replacement against Washington.

          Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz have started all four games at tackle and Bryan Witzmann has been the left guard. Zach Fulton replaced Morse at center.