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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Kansas City Chiefs rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane missed mandatory minicamp with a shoulder injury in June, but last week, he assured reporters that he expected his shoulder to be 100% " sometime soon, for sure ."
Nate Taylor, ESPN's Chiefs beat reporter, appeared on "The Drive" on Kansas City's 96.5 The Fan on Monday, Aug. 3, and gave fans cause for concern.
Host Carrington Harrison asked whether Delane would be able to play if the Chiefs had a regular-season game next week.
"Nope!" Taylor said. "Not at all, Carrington. And I don't know if that answer is gonna change in a month from now, which tells you, oh, this is gonna get tricky, guys."
Taylor continued, "They held him out of contact today for a reason because the medical staff is just not comfortable with whether or not his shoulder is fully healed. It's unfortunate because we know he has the physical tools and traits to play well, but if you're not in pads right now — it's cool that you're out there. It's cool that you want to do some 1-on-1s and some individual periods. But [Chiefs head coach] Andy [Reid] wants the jersey to be taken off. The non-contact, yellow jersey.
"I just don't know if that's gonna happen after training camp, which would be late August, and if the medical staff says, hey, there's no need to push him right now; all he needs is more time for that shoulder, then you give him the three weeks."
When asked whether there's a chance Delane starts the regular season on injured reserve, Taylor said he wouldn't expect that unless "something went terribly wrong."
The Chiefs traded up from No. 9 to No. 6 overall to select Delane out of LSU in the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23. The Chiefs are banking on Delane seamlessly replacing All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, whom they traded to the Los Angeles Rams in March. Kansas City also lost cornerback Jaylen Watson to the Rams in free agency.
The Chiefs will open their 2026 regular-season schedule by hosting the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium on "Monday Night Football" on Sept. 14.
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