The latest news from the Kansas City Chiefs training camp has Armani Watts out with an ankle injury from practice on Monday.
As the Kansas City Chiefs settle into training camp this week with rookies and quarterbacks already reporting, news reports of various injuries will start to roll in as players get acclimated once again to practice and the rigors of the NFL season. Already on Monday, the Chiefs saw rookie safety Armani Watts attended to by trainers after suffering an apparent ankle injury.
No details are yet known about the injury at this point, but Watts will no doubt need as many reps as he can get if the Chiefs have any intentions of giving him serious playing time from the beginning. Ron Parker’s release opened the door wide for someone to take over as the starter, and the competition isn’t exactly fierce.
Watts was the team’s fourth round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M, a promising safety prospect who entered the league with considerable starting experience already at the highest level of competition in college football. Watts is a hard hitting prospect who takes chances with the ball, and his athleticism and instincts were praised by Chiefs scouts coming out of college.
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Watts ended his college career with 324 tackles, including 24 of them for a loss in 45 career games with the Aggies. He had 10 career interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, 17 passes defended and 5 fumble recoveries. He was first in the SEC last year in solo tackles with 83.
If Watts can compete for the open free safety spot, it would help cement the back end of the defense as Eric Berry also returns from a season lost due to injury. Eric Murray, Daniel Sorensen and veteran addition Robert Golden are the others competing at safety for the Chiefs.
In other injury news, the Chiefs will be easy on both cornerback Ashton Lampkin and wideout De’Anthony Thomas as they rehab their injuries. Both players aren’t expected to compete for starter’s minutes, but Dave Toub’s special teams units would love to have both of these players ready and healthy for the regular season.