Trent McDuffie enters concussion protocol for Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have placed rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie into the team’s concussion protocol early in the third preseason game.

It didn’t take long for some bad news to come across the wire for the Kansas City Chiefs in their final preseason game. The team announced that first-round rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie has entered the team’s concussion protocol after playing early against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium.

McDuffie has been penciled in as a Week 1 starter on a young defense that features multiple rookies in McDuffie at cornerback and fellow first-round selection George Karlaftis at defensive end.

The Chiefs have gone young in the secondary—and for the entire defense, really—so it’s not a surprise to see Steve Spagnuolo playing his entire starting unit early in the team’s third preseason game. It’s important to note that there are two full weeks until the regular season begins, so getting them further experience now was a way to keep them game-ready when they’re still such a developmental unit.

The good news for McDuffie at this point is that there’s plenty of time for him to rest and recuperate, and the Chiefs certainly want to do the right thing and make sure he’s fully healed before being cleared to play again.

McDuffie was the 21st overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft after the Chiefs traded up from No. 29 overall in order to get him in a deal with the New England Patriots.