The Kansas City Chiefs enter their final preseason game on Thursday, but they are still unsure about their defensive plans due to key players being unavailable.
On Tuesday, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo revealed to reporters his frustrations with multiple injuries on defense.
“Yeah, so, more frustrating than annoying because it’s really part of it. I was – I made this point in our (defensive) unit meeting the other day, but I don’t believe – we couldn’t have because J-Reid (Justin Reid) hasn’t had any practice snaps, right?” said Spagnuolo. “So, I don’t believe we’ve had the – let’s call it our top 11, 12, or 13, whatever that is. I don’t think we’ve had them on the field for one play. That’s concerning (and) frustrating. Now, I did say to them, ‘Those things are out of our control. I can’t control guys getting hurt, (but) what we can control is our conditioning and being ready to play and all of that.'”
The significant injuries in the secondary have affected the competition for the second starting cornerback position. According to Spagnuolo, the decision has become more complex.
“It’s making it really difficult to decide which way to go,” said Spagnuolo. “We’ve got one more game. Some of these guys will play that are still fighting for jobs, but we can’t say there is a starting other corner right now, in all honesty.”
Chris Jones has also not played in the preseason but is expected to be ready for the regular season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.