Drue Tranquill to play in place of Nick Bolton in Week 3| KCSN Daily 9.22
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The Kansas City Chiefs will be without starting LB Nick Bolton against the Chicago Bears in Week 3. It seems that the ankle injury that Bolton suffered in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars was more significant than initially let on. He was ruled out for the game, meaning that someone else will get the green dot on Sunday.
Who is that someone else? None other than free agent LB Drue Tranquill, who the Chiefs acquired from the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Yeah, he’s been working in there,” Reid said of Tranquill on Friday. “I mean he’s a part of – (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags (Spagnuolo) has all of these different packages so everybody has a chance to play, and (Drue Tranquill) has got all of the experience, so he would be the most likely candidate.”
Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo spoke about Tranquill’s performance so far and why they’ve been giving him some snaps at MIKE linebacker in both Week 1 and Week 2.
"We're very fortunate that we got Drue (Tranquill)," Spagnuolo said. "He's played linebacker before. He's been in the system now a little bit. He got a couple of games under his belt. You guys would have noticed in both games that we played, in certain series in the first half they were Drue would go out and be the MIKE. We gave Nick (Bolton) some reps off. We wanted to do that early because it was early in the season, No 1. And the second game was because we were in Florida and we knew that it could get long and we all wanted to be fresh at the end of the game. I think that will help Drue if he has to step in there and take over for Nick."
Preparation is key and Tranquill now has two games of rotating in at MIKE, in addition to a full week of practice preparing to play the position. He should be ready to rock in Arrowhead come Sunday.
Chiefs Defensive Masterclass vs. Jaguars: Breaking Down 4 Key Plays
Quantifying Chris Jones:
It’s tough to truly understand what Jones means to the Chiefs’ defense, but perhaps the best way to quantify his impact is to look at the performance of everyone else on the field. He demands so much attention, that it opens up opportunities for other players to win their matchups.
“Chris (Jones) is an all-pro player, so I think he influences what offensive lines do – if anybody on either side of the ball in any football is going to concentrate assets to one guy, it should open things for other guys, I think that’s happened a little bit in this last game for us,” Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo said on Thursday. “Hopefully, that continues to happen because guys like George (Karlaftis), Mike (Danna), and Felix (Anudike-Uzomah) we need that – I thought Derrick (Nnadi) had a really good game, knocking that ball down was really important. Having a player like Chris in there certainly opens things up for the other guys.”
Even putting Jones in favorable matchups it helps other guys because opponents have to devote more resources to defending against Jones. The bottom line: When Jones is on the field, everybody eats better.
The threat of Justin Fields:
The Bears might be 0-2, but the Chiefs know exactly how deadly their starting quarterback can be when he gets outside of the pocket. The coaching staff in Kansas City has spent the entire week likening him to Tyreek Hill because of his game-breaking speed.
“I mean you’re talking about a guy that has been as fast as (Dolphins wide receiver) Tyreek (Hill) in a number of cases,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said of Fields. “I’m not sure we have that, but we have Chris (Oladokun), who jumped in and I thought did a nice job for us, running around and doing what - playing the game. I mean this kid (Bears QB Justin Fields) is 230 lbs., 6’3”, and can run as fast as Tyreek, that’s pretty good.”
The defense will have to be on its A-game to keep Fields at bay on Sunday afternoon.
KC Laboratory - Chiefs vs. Bears NFL Week 3 Preview:
Kent Swanson, Craig Stout, and Matt Lane preview the Kansas City Chiefs Week 3 matchup against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Final injury report:
Chiefs:
Bears:
Quick Hits:
KCSN’s Wesley Roesch shares his Week 3 Chiefs-Bears preview.
The Athletic’s Dan Pompei did a feature on Chiefs backup QB Blaine Gabbert.
I delved into Chiefs second-year LB Leo Chenal’s success as a pass-rusher so far in 2023.
A little more information on Chiefs practice squad WR Montrell Washington being the team’s best option at return specialist.
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Important Dates Ahead:
Sept. 24: Chiefs vs. Bears - Regular Season Week 3
Oct. 1: Chiefs at Jets - Regular Season Week 4
Sept. 29, Oct. 2-3: PUP list / NFI list players can begin their practice window
