Chiefs rumors: Nick Bolton avoids serious injury to elbow

Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame has word that Nick Bolton is expected to be okay after an elbow injury on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs felt a significant scare when starting linebacker Nick Bolton went down holding his left elbow when making a tackle in training camp. Fortunately, early word on the injury is that the injury is not serious.

Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated has word that Bolton is "expected to be fine." No further details were given but that's good news for a team that is still over a month away from hosting the first game of the NFL season.

Bolton originally went down when attempting to tackle wide receiver Mecole Hardman during a training camp practice at St. Joseph. Bolton was holding his arm and early concerns pointed to his left wrist, an injury to which kept him out of games last season. After practice, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters that he'd "tweaked his elbow" instead.

Bolton is the heart of the Chiefs defense and their most reliable tackler. He's also a key communicator in the middle of the unit relaying Steve Spagnuolo's directions on each play. Coaches love Bolton and his importance reaches far beyond the production he brings to the field. And given the offseason departure of Wilie Gay Jr., any injury to Bolton would only hurt a thinner position even more.

Bolton is coming into his contract season for the Chiefs after racking up 60 tackles, 3 pass deflections, and 1 interception in 8 games last year.