ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo seemed genuinely bummed that Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Nazeeh Johnson will miss the upcoming season.
Johnson, a seventh-round draft in 2022 as a safety out of Marshall, earned a spot with the Super Bowl LVII champion Chiefs primarily as a special-teams stud last season, but he was pushing for a role as a boundary corner in 2023.
“I was really sad to see that happen to NJ,” Spagnulo said. “He was really climbing. If you guys noticed, he was taking reps with the first group because he had earned it. He has a really good corner skillset.”
Instead, Johnson is headed to injured reserve after he tore his ACL on Saturday during practice at Missouri Western after a storm forced practice inside.
“Somebody’s going to have to surface, that’s for sure,” Spagnuolo said. “We do have some guys with some experience now. That would have been a little different a year ago.”
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Of course, there’s no time to sulk with the first preseason game less than two weeks away and the regular season barely a month away.
The Chiefs still have L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie along with two other draft picks from Johnson’s class, Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams, who played well as rookies.
But Johnson’s injury creates an opportunity.
Nic Jones, a seventh-round pick from Ball State in April’s draft, is the obvious candidate as the next man up, but Spagnuolo also mentioned an undrafted rookie — Ekow Boye-Doe, an undrafted rookie from Kansas State — and a veteran — Dicaprio Bootle, who has been elevated from the practice squad for seven games since signing with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent in 2021 — among others capable of stepping up.
“Ekow I thought had a really good day the other day,” Spagnuolo said. He added, “Bootle always gives us everything he’s got.”
The other players who missed practice were defensive end Mike Danna (calf), tight end Jody Fortson (shoulder), linebacker Isaiah Moore (knee), wide receiver Kadarius Toney (knee) and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (personal reasons).
Wharton, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season, started training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform, or PUP, list.
Moore, an undrafted free agent from North Carolina State, has been placed on IR.
Fellow defensive tackle Chris Jones also has yet to report to camp amid a contract negotiation.
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