The list of injuries keeps growing for both the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers in a tough, defensive battle in Week 7. The latest player to leave due to an injury is Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson, who went down in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury.
Watson was taken to the Chiefs locker room for further evaluation from the team's medical and training staff thereafter, so updates should be forthcoming. We'll keep you updated here.
The Chiefs watched Jaylen Watson leave with an injury in the second half against the 49ers.
The Chiefs have already watched wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster leave the game with a hamstring injury, while the 49ers have lost wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel due to a leg injury and illness, respectively.
Watson has been a lights-out defender for the Chiefs at cornerback this season, which has made all the difference for a unit that was forced to move on from the reliable play of L'Jarius Sneed. The Chiefs traded Sneed to the Tennessee Titans this offseason in exchange for a third-round choice and the deal opened up a vacuum for someone to step up. Watson has done so admirably.
Without Watson, the Chiefs inserted Nazeeh Johnson into the lineup and the team is relatively deep at corner—although Watson's play will definitely be missed. Joshua Williams is also a player to watch who could rotate in, as is Nic Jones and Christian Roland Wallace.
A former seventh-round choice in the 2022 NFL Draft, Watson has grown into a dependable starter for the Chiefs' secondary in his third NFL season. So far this year, he has 29 total tackles and 6 pass deflections for Steve Spagnuolo's defense.