On Monday, D.J. Humphries’ name officially came across the transaction wire. Now the question is when his name will join the top of the depth chart.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Humphries reportedly came to an agreement last week for a deal carrying through the rest of the 2024 season. The longtime veteran tackle was brought on board to alleviate concerns at left tackle, the same spot he’s manned since the 2015 NFL Draft for the Arizona Cardinals, who selected him in the first round nearly a decade ago.

It feels like it’s only a matter of time before the Chiefs place Humphries in the starting role next to Joe Thuney up front. But how much time? That’s anyone’s guess.

On the one hand, Humphries is a veteran tackle with loads of experience. In the same way that you or I could sit down at the piano after years away from playing or pull out the bicycle from the garage and jump back on the seat, it might take a bit but it wouldn’t be too long at all before got back into the swing of things.

Humphries comes to the Chiefs with 99 total starts between the regular season and the postseason. That’s more than enough experience at an above-average level to be able to step into a frustrating situation between the lack of readiness on the part of Kingsley Suamataia and the pain that Wanya Morris has been playing through.

The Chiefs play on Friday—Black Friday, to be specific—against the Las Vegas Raiders in a rivalry game on a short week. Will we see Humphries that quickly?

On the other hand, Humphries is with his first new team ever in his NFL career. He’s never played for anyone but Arizona in his NFL career, and while the Cards had their own carousel of new coaches, it’s not as if Humphries is going to be familiar with what the Chiefs are asking him to do on offense for quite some time.

Beyond the mental hurdles of learning his new teammates, his new scheme, his new playbook, Humphries is also coming off of the mental and physical side of a major injury. Humphries’ season ended last year prematurely after he suffered a torn ACL. That takes time and trust. The time part might be over, but it’s something else to learn to trust the body.

Will the Chiefs want to just throw him into the fire less than a week after signing him? Then again, isn’t that what they’re paying him for—to come in and alleviate a frustrating situation? And if he wasn’t ready health-wise or even mentally, then why not wait to sign him until he is? Has he not used the last several months away from the game to take care of those concerns?

It will be interesting to see how much Humphries plays on Friday against the Raiders if at all, or whether the Chiefs will slow play his arrival as the postseason gets closer.