Chiefs Well Aware of Need for 'Solution' Without Chamarri Conner in Lineup

The Chiefs will be missing safety Chamarri Conner against the Houston Texans, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo recognizes the need for a plan.

Nov 17, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Chamarri Conner (27) intercepts a pass against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

One of the top themes of the Kansas City Chiefs' season thus far has been one player going down and one – or more – subsequently stepping up. That will need to be the case again this weekend as the Houston Texans roll into town.

Following a concussion suffered in Week 15's victory over the Cleveland Browns, safety Chamarri Conner missed every practice this week and is out on Saturday. While head coach Andy Reid left the door open for a potential return on Christmas Day against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the second-year man will sit for at least one contest. That requires someone else to take his place in the interim. What's Kansas City's plan?

Speaking to the media this week, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo pointed to a combination of cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Christian Roland-Wallace.

"In the middle of the game, we had to get somebody in there who had gotten some reps," Spagnuolo said. "Trent always gets nickel reps. We did it last year, he doesn't need many. During the week, if we do a walkthrough, he always gets them and Chris Roland-Wallace gets them as well. Those are the two guys. Chris will get the boatload of it, and we'll see what goes from there. We've got a couple different things we're kind of working on and looking at. When you have injuries, you've got to find a solution. There will be some things we have to do if we don't have Chamarri."

The dynamic of players possibly being out of their most optimal position makes this equation an interesting one to solve. Once cornerback L'Jarius Sneed departed via trade during the offseason, that prompted the Chiefs to make McDuffie more of a boundary choice than a nickel option despite him being an All-Pro in the latter role last year. Consequently, Conner went from a versatile safety to being pigeonholed into the slot. Although McDuffie has more than held his own, Conner surrendered 47 completions on 59 targets with a passer rating of 96.8 in 14 games.

That's where a switch for this week might not necessarily be the end of the world. In the aforementioned Cleveland game, McDuffie's 17 slot snaps were his most since Week 5 of the season. Should he assume more of a workload there, some combination of Joshua Williams and perhaps Nazeeh Johnson will be boundary pieces. Roland-Wallace remains an option, too, having played 70 snaps in the slot this year (including 14 last weekend). He'd be far less proven, although it'd also potentially keep the inconsistent Johnson reduced in what's asked of him.

Either way, the Chiefs will be sacrificing something without Conner in the fold. The silver linings to this situation could be facing a somewhat anemic offense and learning something new about the cornerback room. If someone rises to the challenge in Week 16, it may come in handy during the playoffs.

If not, Conner should be back sooner rather than later for the final stretch.

Read More: Steve Spagnuolo Explains Recent Lack of Playing Time for Joshua Uche