Steve Spagnuolo provides concerning new update on Kansas City Chiefs first-round CB Mansoor Delane’s shoulder injury
Kansas City Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo provided a new update on first-round CB Mansoor Delane on Thursday. Delane remains out of padded training camp practices due to a shoulder injury.
Kansas City Chiefs CB Mansoor Delane, the No. 6 overall pick, continues to be sidelined by a mysterious shoulder injury.
While he’s been able to participate in the padless practice sessions at training camp, the Chiefs held him out of the last three days of padded work. On Thursday, Kansas City held a lighter 10-10-10 practice session at training camp, which allowed Delane to participate.
Speaking to reporters after practice, Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo provided some new details behind the team’s thinking with Delane’s shoulder injury.
“We’re trying to be a little cautious with the shoulder, the shoulder blade, and I think you guys saw him,” Spagnuolo said of Delane. “I mean, he’s out there today because we only had shells on, so he could protect himself. The other three days with the shoulder pads, it was just really being safe, right? Protect him from himself because you put pads on, and we don’t want to set him back. But I did think he did a good job. You know, you saw him in and out of huddles, getting everything mentally. Tried to keep the conditioning up. So hopefully, we’ll see where we are tomorrow because we put the pads back on. But that’ll be Rick’s (Burkholder) call.”
Will Kansas City Chiefs rookie CB Mansoor Delane be ready for Week 1?
Delane has still been an active participant, working in the defensive huddle during live practice reps before running off the field. Those mental reps can only take you so far, and there’s clearly some anxiousness from the coaching staff to get Delane back out on the field. Asked what he needs to see from Delane before the Week 1 game against the Denver Broncos, Spagnuolo didn’t hold back.
“A lot,” Spagnuolo explained. “I mean, we just haven’t had the haven’t had the work. You know, you go through OTAs, and it’s just helmets. So, and he hasn’t had a chance to really, you know, the thing he’s missing right now is the continuity with a bunch of guys that are new to him. You know, everybody’s new. So, we’re gonna have to fight through that. I mean, before you know it, we’re gonna be lining up against Denver. So, hopefully, we can get him back quicker than we thought.”
The practice time that he’s already missed is making for some clear difficulties in the evaluation process. With just a little over a week until Preseason Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, there’s a real possibility that Delane could miss preseason games. That will only further put him back in the eyes of the coaching staff. At this point, there’s a very real possibility that this shoulder injury has stunted the trajectory of the Chiefs’ top draft pick during his rookie season.
