Chiefs CB Nazeeh Johnson suffers head injury during his first career start in Week 8 vs. Raiders
Update: Johnson has officially been ruled out by the team. As bad as the wide receiver injuries are for the Kansas City Chiefs, the cornerback injuries are now mounting.The team announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Chiefs CB Nazeeh Johson is in the NFL's concussion protocol. The former 2022 NFL draft pick started his first career game […]
Update: Johnson has officially been ruled out by the team.
As bad as the wide receiver injuries are for the Kansas City Chiefs, the cornerback injuries are now mounting.
The team announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Chiefs CB Nazeeh Johson is in the NFL's concussion protocol. The former 2022 NFL draft pick started his first career game in Week 8 against the Las Vegas Raiders, working in place of injured starting CB Jaylen Watson. Johnson has quietly been a bright spot in coverage during the first half of the season, mostly getting work when the team has three cornerbacks on the field. He was expected to take a larger role with Watson's injury, but that might be on hold.
Johnson came up injured on a third-down play where he gang-tackled Raiders TE Brock Bowers with fellow DB Chamarri Conner after a 12-yard gain. He appeared to suffer an upper-body injury on the field and labored as he pulled himself out of the game. He spent a lengthy amount of time in the blue tent. When he left the tent, he immediately headed to the locker room.
Already being in the concussion protocol suggests that Johnson won't return to play in this game. Third-year CB Joshua Williams replaced Johnson on the perimeter. Look for players like Conner, Chris Roland-Wallace, and Keith Taylor to also potentially get involved at nickel and outside corner now that Johnson is out of the game.