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Pacheco (ankle) is expected to be ready to return from injured reserve for the Chiefs' Week 12 game against the Panthers, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Pacheco will miss his eighth straight game this Sunday at Buffalo, but the running back took a major step forward in his recovery from his surgically repaired right fibula by returning to practice this week as a limited participant from Wednesday through Friday. Though the Chiefs will have 21 days from when his evaluation window was first opened this past Tuesday to add Pacheco back to the 53-man roster, the 25-year-old looks as though he'll need just two weeks of practice to get himself ready to play. Kareem Hunt has been serving as the Chiefs' lead back in Pacheco's absence over the last couple of months, but he'll likely move into more of a secondary change-of-pace role out of the backfield once Pacheco is activated. Assuming Pacheco is ready to go for the Week 12 contest, the Chiefs could still look to limit his snaps and usage to some degree in his first game back, especially with the team facing a quick turnaround for Week 13 with a Black Friday matchup with the Raiders on Nov. 29.
