Chiefs corner Phillip Gaines will miss season because of ACL tear

Starting cornerback Phillip Gaines tore the ACL in his left knee and will go on injured reserve, dealing another blow to the Chiefs’ pass defense.tmpplchld Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that Gaines, who sustained the injury in a 38-28 loss Monday night at Green Bay, will undergo surgery.tmpplchld The move opens a spot on the 53-man roster for cornerback Sean Smith, who finished serving a three-game suspension for a DUI arrest in June 2014.tmpplchld Smith will likely assume Gaines’ starting spot at right cornerback in the Chiefs’ base defense _ where he played last season _ while first-round pick Marcus Peters should continue to man the left side Sunday, when the Chiefs play at Cincinnati.tmpplchld There is a question, however, about which defensive back will defend slot receivers in Chiefs’ nickel and dime subpackages, which was previously Gaines’ job.tmpplchld “We’ve got a variety of personnel groups that we can use,” Reid said. “We’ll go through those today and look at them and see how things work out.”tmpplchld Peters has shifted inside on a few occasions this season, while fourth safety Tyvon Branch saw his workload increase against the Packers (41 of 76 possible snaps, including several at nickel corner) following Gaines’ injury.tmpplchld The Chiefs also have Jamell Fleming, who lost his No. 3 cornerback job to Marcus Cooper following a tough showing against the Denver Broncos in which he was targeted 13 times and allowed nine completions. Fleming, however, did play some nickel corner on Monday following Gaines’ injury. He left the game because of a groin spasm but was not among the injured players listed by Reid on Wednesday.tmpplchld Cooper played every snap at cornerback Monday _ primarily on the outside, however _ while third-round pick Steven Nelson also is available.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)tmpplchld Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld