Nick Bolton injury update: Chiefs linebacker has dislocated wrist

The Kansas City Chiefs' defense has been the storyline of the season so far, a dominant unit that has unexpectedly come together to smother opposing quarterbacks and their playmakers to help bring the Chiefs to the forefront of the AFC playoff picture. Unfortunately, one of the leaders of that unit went down on Sunday afternoon in a close game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chiefs are currently hosting the Chargers in the fourth quarter of a close AFC West matchup, but the bigger concern right now for the Kingdom has to be the status of linebacker Nick Bolton. That's because Bolton went down with a dislocated wrist injury late in the fourth quarter.

Bolton was officially questionable to return, per the Chiefs, when the injury first happened. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid officially updated his status to say Bolton's wrist was dislocated after the game in remarks to the press.

Here's the play on which Bolton was injured, as he was tackling wide receiver Keenan Allen of the Chargers:

Bolton is the team's heart and soul in terms of the defense, the man in the middle who communicates plays and coordinates adjustments. He's also the team's best overall tackler and is a major asset in their overall gameplan and ability to attack offenses in the backfield.

Bolton has already missed three games this season due to an ankle injury suffered back in Week 2. He was able to avoid going on injured reserve, but he was left inactive in Weeks 3-5 before returning against the Denver Broncos in Week 6 in primetime on Thursday Night Football.

Last season, Bolton led the Chiefs in total tackles with 180 on the year. So far this season, he has 19 tackles and 1 pass deflected in limited action.