Kansas City Chiefs: Derrick Nnadi, Marcus Kemp leave practice with injuries

You can add two new names to the Kansas City Chiefs injury list with the news that Derrick Nnadi and Marcus Kemp both left the field early from practice today.

The Kansas City Chiefs are down another two players at least in the interim with news that wide receiver Marcus Kemp and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi both left practice early with undisclosed injuries.

The injuries are definitely starting to add up for the Chiefs at this point, who are also already without linebackers Reggie Ragland and Ukeme Eligwe, running back Charcandrick West, cornerback Keith Reaser and more for multiple days on end. It’s not uncommon to see many players come up with minor injuries as they adjust to getting back into game shape, especially on days where teams wear pads in practice and the hits become real.

Nnadi would be a particularly painful loss if the injury was anything major. The team drafted Nnadi in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft as a run-defense specialist along the front line. The Chiefs have been very poor against the run in recent years, and no Chiefs fan wants to see a repeat of last year’s playoff meltdown when Derrick Henry ran at will over the Chiefs despite the fact that everyone in Arrowhead knew what was coming.

Nnadi was labeled one of the single best run defenders in the draft and is teaming with fellow rookies Breeland Speaks and Dorian O’Daniel in a remade front seven to go with other young prospects like Tanoh Kpassagnon.

Kemp is also a promising young player who has shown strong in the preseason in each of the last two years. He spent last year on the team’s practice squad and he’s once again vying for an active roster spot. The team faces a difficult decision among several promising players for very limited slots, including Gehrig Dieter, Daniel Braverman, Byron Pringle, Jehu Chesson, Demarcus Robinson, Josh Crockett and more.