Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco expected to return in Week 12, per report

The Kansas City Chiefs have lost a lot of their top offensive playmakers to injury throughout the 2024 NFL season, but it appears that they are soon poised to get one back.
Running back Isiah Pacheco is nearing a return from a leg injury that has sidelined him since the end of the Chiefs’ Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula after being tackled during a carry on the final drive of the game. Three Bengals defenders sandwiched the third-year back, and he bent awkwardly as he fell to the ground.
Pacheco was seen leaving the stadium on crutches and in a walking boot. It was later revealed that he had broken his leg and would miss roughly 6-to-8 weeks because of the injury.
When will Pacheco return from his injury? Here’s what to know about his status as the Chiefs prepare to welcome back from IR.
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The Chiefs designated Pacheco to return from IR ahead of their Week 11 matchup against the Buffalo Bills. That opened a 21-day window for the veteran running back to return to the 53-man roster.
Pacheco was also allowed to return to practice after his designation to return. Chiefs coach Andy Reid said during a Monday news conference that Pacheco, along with defensive end Charles Omenihu and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, would all likely return to practice.
“Listen, I think they’re all close,” Reid said. “I’d probably tell you [Smith-Schuster is] closer than the other two, but I would tell you that – we might have them out there, we’ll just see how it goes here [Monday] and [Tuesday]. They’re very close, all three of them.”
Pacheco did, in fact, return to the practice field on Wednesday. He logged limited sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before being ruled out for the Week 11 game against the Bills.
However, it doesn’t appear that he will remain sidelined much longer as he nears a return from his broken leg.
Pacheco is expected to be ready to return to action during the Chiefs’ Week 12 game against the Carolina Panthers, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on “NFL GameDay Morning” Sunday.
The only question is whether the Chiefs will activate Pacheco for Week 12 or wait to do so until their Week 13 Black Friday game against the Las Vegas Raiders. The team may not want to play him in both games on the short week, so they could focus on bringing him back for the divisional clash with Las Vegas.
That Pacheco will be healthy for Week 12 return isn’t too much of a surprise. While the Chiefs ruled Pacheco and Omenihu out for Week 11, Reid said during a Friday news conference that both “did a nice job with this week” and that they “moved around well.”
As such, it seems like Pacheco is nearing full health after his nine-week absence. Once the Chiefs do bring him back officially, the only question left for fantasy football managers will be about whether the team plans to ease him back into action.
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Pacheco was a workhorse back in the Chiefs’ first two games of the season before suffering a broken leg. He played 43 snaps in each game and averaged 20.5 touches across the two contests, clearly establishing himself as Kansas City’s No. 1 back.
Pacheco will still be Kansas City’s top back upon his return. However, his workload may not be as robust. Kareem Hunt has done an admirable job filling in for Pacheco since being signed midseason, so the Chiefs figure to continue giving Hunt work as they ease Pacheco back into action and look to keep both fresh for the postseason.
It isn’t clear exactly what that split will look like, but Pacheco owners should temper their expectations early during his return. His potential Week 12 matchup with Carolina is certainly favorable, but if he’s splitting touches 50-50 with Hunt, then his ceiling will be capped.
In other words, don’t expect Pacheco to have RB1 volume right away. Treat him like a high-upside RB2 who could emerge as a league-winner the healthier he gets.
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Hunt has taken on legitimate RB1 volume since his first game with the Chiefs in Week 4. He is averaging 23.2 touches per game across six contests and has posted at least 100 scrimmage yards in three of those outings.
Hunt’s productivity has likely earned him a role as Pacheco’s foil for at least the rest of the season. That said, Hunt is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. Pacheco was averaging 4 before his injury, so if he continues to be more explosive than Hunt, that will allow him to absorb more and more of the rushing workload.
Early during Pacheco’s return, Hunt can still be expected to be a solid RB2, especially in a great matchup against the Panthers. But as time goes, his ceiling seems likely to drop. That will likely take him from fringe RB1 status to that of a solid, boom-or-bust flex.