Kansas City Chiefs starting safety Juan Thornhill to miss playoffs with torn ACL

As expected, Kansas City Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill's knee injury is one that will keep him out of the playoffs.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed to reporters that Thornhill suffered a torn ACL during Sunday's Week 17 win against the Los Angeles Chargers. He was scheduled to have an MRI this morning and it seems that those results confirmed the fears of the Kansas City medical staff.

Thornhill's tremendous rookie season will come to an end before the postseason. He should have nothing to regret about what he did in 2019, having finished the season with 56 total tackles, five passes defended and three interceptions.

Reid mentioned that in Thornhill's place, the Chiefs will use some combination of Kendall Fuller and Armani Watts. He expressed the utmost confidence in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his ability to put his players in the best position to help offset the loss of Thornhill.

The good news is that the standard recovery time for ACL injuries in the NFL is around nine months. That means that Thornhill should have a chance to get healthy and recovered by the start of the 2020 season.

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