With Kansas City's secondary depleted due to injuries, the Chiefs have decided to bring back an old friend to help them: Steven Nelson.
The former NFL cornerback has decided to come out retirement to sign with the Chiefs' practice squad. The Chiefs were desperate to add some help in the secondary after watching multiple corners go down over the past few weeks. The trouble started when Jaylen Watson broke his ankle back in Week 7. The Chiefs then got hit with another injury when Joshua Williams was knocked out of their Week 14 game against the Chargers with a shoulder injury.
To add some depth at the position, the Chiefs decided to bring back a familiar face in Nelson, who was only available because he had previously announced his retirement back in June.
Nelson actually started his career in Kansas City, so that familiarity was probably part of the reason why he decided to come out of retirement after six months.
The Chiefs made Nelson a third-round pick back in 2015, and he spent four seasons in Kansas City before eventually moving on.
"He was a good player when he was here," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said on Monday. "He came out of Oregon State with the ability to return and play corner and then he developed into a starting corner in the league. He had a nice career for the last (nine) years. It was the ability to add a little depth to that spot."
During his nine-year career, Nelson has been a reliable starting corner. After starting 31 games over four seasons with the Chiefs, he became a full-time starting corner during his final five seasons in the NFL, which included time with the Steelers (2019-20), Eagles (2021) and Texans (2022-23). Not only did Nelson start 16 games for Houston in 2023, but he finished second on the team in interceptions with four.
Despite playing in Kansas City for four seasons, Nelson has never won a Super Bowl, and that likely factored into his decision to come out of retirement. With the Chiefs sitting at 12-1, Nelson will now help Kansas City attempt to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls.
