Kansas City Chiefs: Will Armani Watts take advantage of his opportunity

The Kansas City Chiefs have some concerning injuries at the safety position. Will rookie Armani Watts take advantage and start earlier than expected?

The Kansas City Chiefs have some talent at the safety position, but the injuries that have taken place at camp could be of some concern. Starting safety Daniel Sorensen who was supposed to make the starting spot next to Eric Berry, will now miss time due to an injury suffered at training camp. The injury was reported to be a tibial plateau fracture which is the shin bone.

B.J. Kissel of the Chiefs official website reported that the Chiefs’ vice president of sports medicine Rick Burkholder stated that Sorensen underwent surgery to repair his tibial plateau fracture and a torn meniscus.

"“We now have to wait for the bone to heal,” he said. “So, with all bones that are broken, we will reexamine him at six weeks. So, there’s no time frame other than we’re going to reexamine him then. He’ll be up today to begin his formal rehab with us.”"

The injury is one that can either take the six weeks and be fine or become a much longer recovery process. Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens suffered the same injury last season in August but was back on the field by Week 5. Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt a more extensive but similar injury last October when facing Kansas City and was out the rest of the season.

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I’ve had my issues with Sorensen coming in as the starting free safety for Kansas City this year but losing him could be a significant loss for the team if someone doesn’t step up in a big way. Sorensen’s backup, Leon McQuay, has been injured himself with a hamstring lingering injury since August 6. He has been more banged up than healthy since joining the Chiefs.

Other options would include safety Eric Murray. He will be entering his third season with Kansas City and is still transitioning to the new position after playing slot cornerback in college. Like Sorensen, Murray struggled last season in a more prominent role that makes me question him stepping into another starting role in 2018.

That leaves rookie safety Armani Watts left on the table for possible starters. While there is still Robert Golden who was signed during free agency, he’s more of a special teams player at this point in his career. Watts led the defense in snaps by a good number in the Chiefs preseason opener this past Thursday.

While he looked somewhat lost at times and late to get to the ball carrier, it could be that the Chiefs are trying to get him every snap possible. Watts brings an aggressive and hard-hitting style to the Chiefs defense, but he also has his weaknesses. He still has plenty of techniques to work on before he is ready to start.

Now we have Eric Berry who is showing some concerning signs with an injury. The star safety missed practice on Sunday afternoon due to a sore heel. If you remember correctly, Berry lost time during last year’s training camp with the same soreness. When Berry injured his Achilles tendon in Week 1 against the New England Patriots last year, many thought it was the same leg.

It turns out that the sore heel was on the opposite leg of which he suffered the injury. It makes me wonder if it’s the same heel that he was having trouble with last preseason which would have me concerned about his health moving forward.

The Chiefs can’t afford to lose Berry again this season as it was the beginning of fallout for the defense last year. During Sunday’s camp, Armani Watts took the starting role in Berry’s absence next to Eric Murray.

With Sorensen out and if Berry continues to have soreness in his foot, it might be extremely beneficial for Kansas City to look outside the club for a starting safety. The team cannot afford for both starting safeties to be out with the question marks that already surround the secondary. Watts looks like he is still in need of some significant developments and Murray has yet to show anything comforting for my taste.

Will Kansas City look to free agency or trade for another starting safety before the beginning of the regular season? Even if Berry is fully healthy, I would like to see them bring in some starting caliber talent.