Chiefs Starter Appears 'Extremely Shaken Up' in Practice on Wednesday

The Chiefs have dealt with a series of injuries throughout training camp and Wednesday's practice has been especially damaging. Star LB Nick Bolton suffered an apparent left arm injury and left the field on the front of a cart.

DT Chris Jones is still dealing with lingering effects from his groin injury and WR Kadarius Toney went down as well, making it three key players to experience issues in the hot St. Joseph sun.

Bolton is the team's most experienced linebacker and the defense's vocal leader. He missed half of the season in 2023 with a dislocated wrist, though there's not yet been any indication this new injury is related to that one.

Chiefs News: LB Nick Bolton Suffers Left Arm Injury

Entering his fourth year with the organization, Bolton is one of the NFL's surest tacklers. He's entering a contract year with hopes to earn a massive extension, though he dismissed contract talks before training camp planning to increase his value through a stellar season.

It's a risky decision, one that becomes more unfortunate should the 2021 second-round pick miss time. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo consistently sings Bolton's praises, but Kansas City's defense didn't miss a beat when he went down in 2023.

That's not to suggest Bolton isn't a crucial player. The Chiefs are better with him on the field, but the organization has a series of difficult roster decisions to make next offseason with numerous young players due for new contracts and Patrick Mahomes' cap hit growing.

Head coach Andy Reid told reporters following practice that Bolton tweaked his elbow. He didn't seem concerned about it overall, yet it's still discouraging to see such an important leader go down.

Bolton bet on himself, but needs to be on the field to cash in. It doesn't appear this is a serious injury, though it's a situation to keep an eye on regardless.

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