Chiefs Confident in Linebacker Plan With Nick Bolton Out

The Kansas City Chiefs are just a few days away from their Week 8 game against the Denver Broncos, and linebacker Nick Bolton won't be on the field with his teammates due to an injury. The third-year man recently underwent successful surgery to repair a dislocated wrist and is expected to miss at least six weeks, leaving him on the shelf for quite a bit of Kansas City's upcoming schedule.

Despite their leading tackler from last season not being available, the Chiefs remain confident in their plan at linebacker moving forward. 

First and foremost, Bolton must be placed on the injured reserve list in order to open up a spot on the 53-man roster for someone to take his place. That move has yet to occur as of the publishing of this article, although Kansas City should make it by sometime on Saturday. With Bolton presumably missing four or more games anyway, it's a decision that simply makes sense. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub spoke to the media on Thursday and indicated that either a linebacker or safety will be coming up to join the game day group. 

"We'll have to make a decision," Toub said. "We've got some ideas out there [of] what we're going to do. Obviously, we'll make that decision as the week goes on. But yeah, we're going to have to do something there in the linebacker area or possibly bring up a safety. But that guy's going to help me, he's going to be a special teams guy because what happens is (Drue) Tranquill was helping me and now he's going to be strictly on defense and now I have to get his position replaced."

With the figurative Bolton replacement being a Toub-specific player, the literal Bolton replacement will be Tranquill. The offseason free agent pickup has been stellar when on the field this season, amassing 36 tackles in seven games with four quarterback hits, 2.5 sacks, a pair of tackles for loss and a pass broken up. The latter is a superior coverage option than the former, although there's a trade-off in style considering Bolton is a more traditional aggressive, downhill attacker in the run game. 

With Tranquill logging a combined 173 snaps in Weeks 3-5 while Bolton was out with a high-ankle sprain, the Chiefs' defense didn't experience any decline at the linebaker position. Tranquill is more than capable of leading the room in both snaps and production, which is something defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo noted on Thursday as well. 

"The point you're making about the fact that we've played a couple of games — I want to say it's a total of three, right? — without Nick so far," Spagnuolo said, "Drue's been in there and the guys have felt Drue in the front of the huddle all week long. I think there's a comfort level with the other 10 with Drue in there now, having done it. I think they felt that way when Nick went down the first time, but it's nice to know we have a guy that can fit in there and not skip a beat. I said this before, I never felt like we had to cut things back when Drue took over in those three games Nick was gone, and I feel the same way now so hopefully we can keep tracking upward." 

In terms of supporting pieces at linebacker, the top one is undoubtedly Willie Gay Jr. He's played a significant role on defense and without Bolton in the picture, that should only continue to be the case. Second-year 'backer Leo Chenal also fits that description, as he's seen his playing time dip in recent weeks but could be in line for increased snaps. Cole Christiansen was pitched as a potential call-up candidate but is on the practice squad/injured list via the Chiefs. Jack Cochrane, who's already on the roster, is another player Spagnuolo trusts. 

"Cole's not on the 53 now," Spagnuolo said. "But Jack, certainly. Listen, we've got a lot of faith in Jack. When Nick was out before, Jack was in a rotation of a package, let's say, and we've got no problem doing the same thing. All of those guys have played good enough football, I think, to this point where they all merit some playing time. So we'll just see how the game goes, what the situations are and whether that happens or not."

Spagnuolo says this might be the fastest linebacker group he's had, and it possesses a great deal of versatility. His defensive front and second level "can all operate in multiple calls," also displaying a high level of something he terms "football get-it." The linebackers are a major reason why Kansas City's defense has been one of the best in the league through seven weeks; Bolton being out is a blow but far from something that will sink the unit. Regardless of what combination the Chiefs go with to offset the loss of their former second-round pick, it's bound to be a productive one and a collection that the coaching staff clearly is in favor of.