Chiefs’ Steven Nelson not panicked over preseason struggles by secondary

Chiefs starting cornerback Steven Nelson had been having the best training camp of his career before missing the week leading up last Saturday’s exhibition game in Chicago while in the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Nelson is slated to move exclusively to corner this season after playing both corner and nickel the past two years. While many of the Chiefs’ starters won’t play in Thursday’s regular-season opener, per coach Andy Reid’s usual procedure, Nelson offered assurances this week that he’d be prepared for the season opener.

“I’m solid now,” Nelson said. “I missed a week. It’s preseason. I’m back, you know, for when it counts. Game one, you can count on me to be out there.”

The Chiefs’ secondary — especially David Amerson and recently signed veteran Orlando Scandrick — has been the subject of much criticism in recent weeks due to its struggles in the preseason. Nelson, one of the returning starters in the secondary along with safety Eric Berry, downplayed any concerns.

“It’s preseason,” said Nelson, who has started 22 of the 24 games he has played the past two seasons. “It’s pretty much part of camp. It’s evaluation for the coaches. There’s a lot of guys on the roster getting some time in there, so you don’t really know who’s on there. It’s not a settled 53 when you’re having preseason games.”

Nelson spoke Tuesday evening at an event he hosted at the Gregg/Klice Community Center in downtown Kansas City to encourage and educate children and their parents about good nutrition. Dietician Lisa Bonci, who works with the Chiefs as well as other NFL teams, and several Chiefs players spoke to a group of more than 50 children and their parents about good eating habits.

Members of the Chiefs in attendance included Algernon Brown, Luarent Duvernay-Tardif, Ukeme Eligwe, Kendall Fuller, Jarvis Jenkins, Chase Litton, Jordan McQuay, JD Moore, Byron Pringle, Will Redmon and Jordan Smallwood, as well as team president Mark Donovan.

“It really means a lot,” Nelson said of the turnout from his teammates. “It really shows the respect they have not only for myself, but that they respect giving back some of that knowledge to help the kids.”

This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 12:41 PM.