Rashad Fenton’s concussion complicates cornerback picture for KC Chiefs

Coming into the regular season, the K.C. Chiefs looked as loaded at cornerback as they did at nearly any other position on the roster. There was youth and depth, proven talent and plenty of upside. It gave the Chiefs quite a bit of confidence in the defense heading into Week 1.

Now after three weeks of the regular season, things are playing out a bit differently than anticipated. Any and all defensive confidence has been lost as three consecutive opponents have moved the ball at will against the defense, which has issues at all three levels. Even more, some injuries are taking their toll and challenging the team’s depth.

Last week, outside corner Charvarius Ward landed on the team’s injury report and was designated at questionable before the team’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. In the end, a quad injury kept him from playing at all as the Chiefs left him inactive coming in. Then during the game, cornerback Rashad Fenton went out with a head injury as the Chiefs checked him for a potential concussion.

Rashad Fenton’s concussion is thinning the ranks at cornerback for the Chiefs.

It turns out that Fenton’s concussion was a very real thing, and he’s missed all of practice this week through Thursday as the team prepares to fly to Philadelphia for their next game against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

While Fenton is a role player, he’s an underrated one in a secondary that values his versatility to provide reps on the boundary as well as the slot if needed. Fenton is the fourth corner in the game on subpackages behind Ward, Mike Hughes, and L’Jarius Sneed. With Ward and Fenton potentially out, things can get very dicey for the team’s pass defense.

The Chiefs do have Deandre Baker as a young corner who can step in, but something hasn’t clicked there as expected as the Chiefs have made him a healthy scratch most Sundays so far. Chris Lammons is a special teams ace, so asking more of him is a wild card. Expect the Chiefs to promote DiCaprio Bootle from the practice squad in order to round out the corps at cornerback if Fenton is going to be out, which is how things look right now.