Steven Nelson injury update: Chiefs cornerback has concussion
By Matt Conner
The biggest injury suffered by the Kansas City Chiefs during Friday’s win is a concussion for Steven Nelson that will keep the CB out for a while.
The Kansas City Chiefs took another hit in the secondary with news that Steven Nelson suffered an official concussion on Friday night during the team’s road victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
Nelson was taken out of the game after being hit by Atlanta Falcons receiver Austin Hooper as he leapt into the end zone for a touchdown. The head injury was later confirmed to officially be a concussion by Chiefs training staff and relayed to reporters by head coach Andy Reid.
Given the concussion, it’s going to be impossible for anyone to tell just how long Nelson could be out. The team is already dealing with the absence of Laurent Duvernay-Tardif in recent days due to the concussion protocol, and the journey back to the field is different for each player in approach and speed.
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The good news for Nelson is that he’s very well-versed in Bob Sutton’s schemes and has a couple weeks before the Chiefs would even need him to play any meaningful reps on the field at all. Unfortunately it also thins out a secondary that has already been criticized as low on depth and talent all offseason long.
Without Nelson in practice or perhaps available for a preseason game, the Chiefs are going to see quite a few of their young players in more significant roles than they expected. If Kendall Fuller remains inside, it brings a young player like Tremon Smith or Will Redmond to the outside as a boundary corner opposite David Amerson. It also bumps everyone else up the depth chart, which means young players like D’Montre Wade or Arrion Springs are seeing a lot more snaps in subpackages without Nelson and Keith Reaser (quad strain) in the line-up.
Here’s hoping Nelson has a clear path forward and is able to rebound well from this unfortunate injury. Most importantly, here’s hoping he takes all the time and space he needs to get there.