Chiefs Injury News After Win Over Raiders: Nazeeh Johnson, Patrick Mahomes, Jody Fortson Updates
The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a pair of concerning injuries in their 27-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, though quarterback Patrick Mahomes escaped with only a tweak, according to head coach Andy Reid.
After the game, Reid opened his postgame press conference with an injury report providing the latest regarding Mahomes, cornerback Nazeeh Johnson and tight end Jody Fortson.
"Couple things on the injury front: Nazeeh Johnson has a concussion and then Jody Fortson hurt his right knee, we'll do some work on that and see what that is," Reid said. "Other than that, we're pretty good. Pat got his ankle rolled up on a little bit, but he was fine as it went on."
Johnson's concussion will test the depth of an already-thinning cornerback group following the loss of No. 2 cornerback Jaylen Watson in last week's win over the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs leaned on Joshua Williams and Chris Rolland-Wallace in Johnson's absence in Las Vegas, to mixed results.
Fortson, who returned to Kansas City in late September after spending training camp and the preseason with the Miami Dolphins, exited after attempting to recover an onside kick in the Raiders' final effort to keep the game alive. Fortson placed no weight on his right leg as he was helped off the field before he was carted to the locker room after the game concluded, according to Vahe Gregorian of The Kansas City Star. Fortson's career has been marred by serious injuries, and there's now cause for concern that he could have suffered another one in Las Vegas.
While anyone watching the game saw evidence that Mahomes was eventually able to function (and to continually out-scramble Raiders defenders) following his brief bout of hobbling following his ankle tweak, it's good to hear Reid address it directly while noting that the team doesn't seem concerned about long-term ramifications. Mahomes has frequently played through foot and ankle injuries throughout his NFL career, particularly in the playoffs. As long as Mahomes doesn't acquire a variety of snowballing ailments that impact him as the season goes on, playing through a minor nick is par for the course for KC's QB.