Chiefs TE Noah Gray is playing a position he hasn't often played due to an untimely injury

Update: Winchester did return for the second half of the game, so it appears the shoulder injury was not all that serious.

Kansas City Chiefs TE Noah Gray is getting some work at a position he doesn't normally play due to an untimely injury.

Chiefs long snapper James Winchester got banged up during punt coverage, suffering a shoulder injury that would cause him to exit the game. The team quickly ruled him questionable to return with a shoulder injury.

In the past, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has been the team's emergency long snapper, but in a preseason game that he's already exited, the team opted to use Noah Gray in place of Winchester.

“We have some guys that can do it," Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said in 2021. "Travis Kelce is a guy that can come in in a game if something were to happen to James (Winchester) he would be our guy, and we wouldn’t bat an eye putting him in there. We feel pretty good there."

Gray has already been the long-snapper for a 56-yard Harrison Butker field goal and a 37-yard Matt Araiza punt with just a few minutes left to go in the half.

Being ruled questionable to return in the preseason is just as good as being ruled out. No matter how serious or unserious the injury to Winchester might be, don't expect to see him back in this game. That's especially accurate with Gray having a few successful repetitions under his belt already.

Teams don't typically carry two long snappers, and we'll see next week whether they work out any players at the position. That could signal the severity of the injury to the 35-year-old Winchester. It's also possible that the Chiefs just use Gray there for the time being as Winchester recovers from his injury.

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