Tamba Hali Reportedly to Remain on PUP List, Miss 1st 6 Chiefs Games of 2017

The Kansas City Chiefs will reportedly be without linebacker Tamba Hali for the first six games of the 2017 regular season.                  

On Saturday, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star reported the Chiefs are keeping Hali on the physically unable to perform list, making him ineligible to play in the team's first six games. 

Given Hali's age (33) and knee problems, the Chiefs reduced his role last season. He only started two games in 2016, the fewest of his career, though he did appear in all 16 contests and recorded 3.5 sacks. 

Hali played just seven snaps during the Chiefs' playoff loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers in January, and he later took to Twitter to complain about how the team used him: 

"Fans should know this. [I] only played seven snaps last year [in the] 2017 playoff game against the Steelers. ... I was told the reason I wasn't playing was they wanted me fresh for the playoff. ... Can someone explain to me how I played 58 snaps in the first game when we made the greatest comeback in Chiefs history? ... watching both Steelers game from sideline and playing 15 and seven in the last game I'm still lost. Am I needed in KC anymore?"

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star noted last October that Hali plays games "through the sting of bone-on-bone knee pain." 

The team placed Hali on the PUP list at the start of training camp in July. His absence at the start of the season will presumably keep him fresh for the second half of the campaign and a potential playoff run. 

The Chiefs open the season Thursday versus the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, and Hali will be eligible to return Oct. 19 when Kansas City takes on the Oakland Raiders at Oakland Coliseum.