Kansas City Chiefs' latest free agency reunion with CB Steven Nelson has the perfect explanation
The Kansas City Chiefs have officially lured a former draft pick from retirement to join them for their latest postseason run.On Monday, the Chiefs announced they'd signed former CB Steven Nelson to the practice squad. A former third-round 2015 NFL draft pick out of Oregon State, Nelson played four years in Kansas City before leaving in […]
The Kansas City Chiefs have officially lured a former draft pick from retirement to join them for their latest postseason run.
On Monday, the Chiefs announced they'd signed former CB Steven Nelson to the practice squad. A former third-round 2015 NFL draft pick out of Oregon State, Nelson played four years in Kansas City before leaving in free agency to join the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nelson played the last two years of his NFL career with the Houston Texans before announcing his retirement this past offseason.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke with media members about Nelson's visit on Monday.
“Well, he was a good player when he was here," Reid said. "He came out of Oregon State with the ability to return and play corner, and then he developed into a starting corner in the league. He had a nice career for the last how many years. It was the ability to add a little depth to that spot. We’ll just see how things work out (and) see kind of where he’s at today. He would be a welcomed addition if he’s – if it all works out.”
In his four prior years in Kansas City, Nelson started 38 games while appearing over 50 games. He recorded 182 combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, one forced fumble, two fumble recovers, 35 passes defended, and four interceptions. He played under Bob Sutton and not Steve Spagnuolo, so he'll need some time to adjust to the system and terminology in Kansas City.
Why did the Chiefs sign Nelson out of retirement?
The Chiefs haven't exactly had the strongest cornerback group this season. That's to be expected after trading away a stud like L'Jarius Sneed during the offseason and suffering an injury to an ascending player like Jaylen Watson. Where the Chiefs have really struggled to recover since Watson's injury is in their man coverage success. Just this last week, Steve Spagnuolo ran man coverage at the second-lowest rate of the season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Even against a weakened Los Angeles receiving corps, the Chiefs felt they didn't have the horses to match up in man coverage. That's where Steven Nelson comes in. In 2023 with the Texans, he was one of the NFL's premier press-man cornerbacks. He was targeted on just under 12% of his press coverage snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Plainly put, he's not far removed from being one of the best press coverage corners in the league.
Expect Nelson to start on the practice squad to get up to speed, but he should be promoted to the 53-man roster in short order to help shore up the cornerback room and their ability to match up in press coverage.
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