Andy Reid Provides a Subtle but Important Injury Update About Nick Bolton

While there have been some notable bumps in the road, especially on offense, the Kansas City Chiefs are largely in a good place. The defending Super Bowl champs are sitting atop the AFC West at 8-3. That position wouldn’t provide home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, but the No. 2 seed is nothing to sneeze at.

The Chiefs could also still get better down the stretch. And we’re not talking about gradual offensive improvement either.

Buried within head coach Andy Reid’s Monday media availability, there was a small nugget regarding Nick Bolton’s return from injury. And while the linebacker isn’t back in the lineup just yet, his progress bodes well for everyone at Arrowhead.

Let’s break things down.

Bolton Seems to Be Progressing Toward a Return

Although the Chiefs’ offense usually steals most of the headlines, the team’s defense has done plenty of good work this year. And their collective success is even more impressive when you consider Bolton has missed a good chunk of the campaign.

The linebacker, who usually wears the defense’s green dot and handles communication duties, is a rangy player capable of making plays from sideline-to-sideline. And while that usually leaves him as the club’s leading tackler, this year will be different.

During the 2023 campaign, Bolton has only appeared in four games. He suited up for Weeks 1 and 2, then missed the next three outings. He returned in Week 6, and then dislocated his wrist in Week 7.

That landed the linebacker on injured reserve, and he understandably hasn’t been seen since.

But now four games have passed, theoretically clearing Bolton to return. And if we take K.C.’s head coach at his word, it seems like the linebacker is moving in the right direction.

“I think we’ll be able to get some work from Nick,” Reid explained when asked about the linebacker. “I mean, he’s wanted to go here, even before this, though, but we’re just trying to make sure he’s right for that.”

To be completely clear, getting work from Bolton doesn’t mean that he’s bound for an immediate return. Returning to practice would start a 21-day window, however, after which he’ll need to be activated.

But the fact that he’s nearing that point and, perhaps more importantly, hasn’t experienced any notable setbacks, is certainly good news for Kansas City.

Bolton’s Return Will Bolster an Already Capable Defense

In previous years, K.C. would have been desperate for Bolton to return and solidify a leaky defense. These days, though, things are different.

Through 11 games of the season, the Chiefs have allowed the fourth-fewest yards in the entire NFL. The unit is also strong against the pass, allowing (again) the fourth-fewest yards in the league and applying plenty of pressure to the opposing quarterback. Things are a bit worse against the run (KC is just below the middle of the pack), but the proof is in the overall pudding. Steve Spagnuolo’s group is only allowing an average of 16.5 points per game, which is the third best around.

And remember, the club is doing that without a core piece of the puzzle.

But wait, you might be saying, hasn’t Drue Tranquill played well in Bolton’s absence? He has, but depth is never a bad thing. Having both linebackers available gives Spagnuolo more tools to play with, whether that means disguising coverages or simply rotating without losing quality. No team, for example, wants to surrender a key third down because their main man in the middle was out of breath from the previous play.

Or, if you’d prefer to boil things down to the simplest terms, put it this way.

Thus far, the Chiefs have found success on the back of their defense; the unit’s collective strength has given the offense time to work through some growing pains. And now, one of the club’s most important players is getting closer to reentering the lineup, making that strong point even stronger.

At a minimum, the defense should keep rolling. And, in a best-case scenario for the Chiefs, the offense will click into gear, giving the club two top-notch units.

Either way, Bolton’s return shouldn’t fly under the radar as the 2023 NFL season reaches its home stretch.

The cliché says that defense wins championships. Perhaps the Kansas City Chiefs will put that to the test.