Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid delivered a slew of injury news on Tuesday.
It started off good, as Reid officially confirmed that Patrick Mahomes will start at quarterback against the Denver Broncos in Week 1. Unfortunately, he followed that up by saying that left tackle Josh Simmons likely will not play in that game as Simmons continues to rehab a back injury he sustained toward the end of training camp.
Kansas City Chiefs S Chamarri Conner ‘A Stretch’ to Play Week 1 vs. Broncos
Reid had some more bad news on the injury front, calling starting safety Chamarri Conner a stretch to be able to play on Monday night (H/T Harold Kuntz). However, the Chiefs’ other starting safety — Alohi Gilman — should be ready to go.
“Chamarri would be a stretch,” Reid said. “The other guy, Gilman, was out there practicing and doing his thing. He’ll be ready to go I think.”
Conner injured his knee during training camp and missed the entire preseason. After primarily playing the nickelback role throughout his first three seasons in Kansas City, Conner moved to full-time safety during the offseason.
Many consider that to be Conner’s more natural position and his best place to thrive. The Chiefs have multiple defensive backs who can play nickel, such as Jadon Canady, Chris Roland-Wallace, and L’Jarius Sneed.
S Jaden Hicks Ready to Step up for Chiefs
Hicks will be the next man up in place of Conner. Hicks has made four starts throughout his first two NFL seasons, and has played plenty of snaps. He showed a lot of promise during his rookie year, recoding three interceptions and five passes defensed. Hicks didn’t make as much of an impact in Year 2, but did set a career high in tackles with 42.
Many believed Hicks would be a full-time starter by now, but he finds himself behind Gilman and Conner on the depth chart. However, Hicks is a versatile player, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is no stranger to deploying three safeties on the field. Hicks can play as a box or deep safety, as well as some nickelback.
Hicks was one of the standouts for the Chiefs during preseason, recording 10 tackles and one sack. He played a lot of snaps on both defense and special teams, and was Kansas City’s highest-graded defender of the preseason.
Chiefs Likely to Be Down Underrated Defensive Starter vs. Broncos