Chiefs LB Nick Bolton left Wednesday's practice after injuring his left elbow. He reportedly spent a while in the medical tent by the field before riding a cart to the locker room. It's tough to know yet whether that represented urgency or convenience. We'll watch for more from the team on how long Bolton might be out.
Andy Reid said afterward that Bolton "tweaked his elbow."
That would seem to indicate it's not serious, though we'll await confirmation on the diagnosis.
Any missed game time for Bolton would leave a lot of tackle opportunities for his teammates.
Drue Tranquill filled in when Bolton missed time last year and averaged 8.5 total tackles across six games of full playing time.
He re-signed after the season with K.C., which also let LB Willie Gay Jr. walk. That should position Tranquill as the No. 2 LB when Bolton's healthy -- and likely playing time leader if Bolton misses time.
Leo Chenal stands as the No. 3 LB and would get a snap-share boost if Bolton sat out, but we'd have to see exactly what his role looked like in that situation.
Gay remained short of 80% snap shares in all but two of the games Bolton missed last year, despite working as the No. 2 LB.
S Justin Reid led the team in tackles last year (95) and spent the most time "in the box" among Chiefs safeties. He'd likely see a tackle bump if Bolton were out as well.
Of course, let's keep in mind that we're still more than a month away from the season.
The injury -- however serious -- is to the same arm that required surgery after Bolton dislocated in last October. He did get back to full playing time in the playoffs.
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