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Left Elbow Injury Knocks Nick Bolton Out of Practice

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Wed, Jul 31 2024 4:44 PM UTC
Nick Bolton Headshot

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.

What They're Saying

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.

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

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.

Other Winners & Losers

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.

Injury History: New Developments & Historical Context

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.

Matt Schauf Author Image
Matt Schauf, Editor
Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.
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