Super Bowl LIV: Chiefs' Greg Senat is out, but not down on his future

MIAMI — Greg Senat may get his first Super Bowl ring before he plays his first NFL snap.

The offensive lineman from Wagner and Elmont Memorial High School is on the Chiefs’ injured reserve list, but he has spent the week in town hanging with some of his teammates, soaking up the championship atmosphere and getting ready for the big game on Sunday.

“To have a chance to be a part of something like this, it’s insane,” Senat told Newsday. “In my wildest dreams, I wouldn’t think about it. Going through college and the whole process of getting drafted, that was a blessing and amazing and beyond my imagination. This is even more icing on the cake.”

It’s the culmination of a season that began with promise but hit an early pothole. Senat, a sixth-round pick by the Ravens in 2018, missed his entire rookie season because of foot surgery. He made the 53-man roster out of training camp in 2019, but on Sept. 14, the Ravens waived him. They had eight offensive linemen on the active roster and needed to add depth at cornerback.

“I knew something was going to give,” Senat said. “I just didn’t know it was going to be me.”

Two days later, he was claimed off waivers by the Chiefs.

“Going to the Chiefs and meeting everyone and seeing the facilities and coaching staff and everything, I felt pretty happy about what had happened,” he said.

Like his first few games with the Ravens, he was on the Chiefs’ active roster but never got in a game. On Nov. 2, he was placed on injured reserve with a fractured bone in his foot, an injury that was suffered in practice. It did not require surgery, but it did need six to eight weeks to heal, which ended his season.

But not the Chiefs’ season. That’s still rolling.

“When your quarterback is one of the hardest-working and most-focused people on the team, you can’t do any better than that,” Senat said of Patrick Mahomes. “That trickles down to everybody else .  .  . I think we have a team that is unmatched. I don’t think anyone in the league can really match up with our offense, and our defense is playing outstanding.”

Senat isn’t the only injured Chief with Long Island roots. Rookie John Lovett, a former quarterback at Princeton, where he was two-time Ivy League Player of the Year, was signed in the spring as a tight end and fullback. He grew up in Wantagh before attending high school in Maryland, but he still has family in Nassau County. In his first preseason game in August, he separated a shoulder and landed on injured reserve.

Senat recently has been cleared from his injury. He’s spending part of his time in Miami working out and getting ready to make a push for the 2020 roster.

“I’m itching to play and itching to finally show everyone in the league and myself that I’m capable of being a great player in this league,” he said. “It’s just a matter of staying healthy and continuing to grow and get better.”

On Sunday, though, he’ll take a break and be at Hard Rock Stadium with a few family members. They’ll be in the stands watching his team try to win Super Bowl LIV.

Senat will be rooting hard for the Chiefs. He’ll also be dreaming about being on the field for a Super Bowl in the future, hoping that Sunday won’t wind up being the closest he ever gets to the pinnacle of the sport.

Said Senat: “That’s the goal.”

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.