Chiefs Rookie Mansoor Delane Ruled Out Against Broncos With Lingering Shoulder Injury

Mansoor Delane’s NFL career started like a movie script written by someone who hates happy endings. You get the ultimate high of picking off a pass on your first professional snap, followed immediately by the crushing reality of blowing up your shoulder on the tackle.

Now that exact same shoulder is costing him the rematch. According to Adam Schefter, the Kansas City Chiefs have officially downgraded their rookie cornerback to out for Sunday’s divisional clash in Denver.

"Adam Schefter reported: 'Chiefs downgraded CB Mansoor Delane to out for Sunday’s game in Denver due to a shoulder injury.'"

The sixth overall pick has been battling this issue since that fateful Week 1 collision with the Denver turf. He managed to play through it for a while, but missing practice late in the week was the writing on the wall that his body finally needed a break.

Kansas City desperately needs him healthy for the long haul. They completely rebuilt this secondary over the offseason, shipping Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams and losing Bryan Cook, leaving them heavily reliant on a rookie to lock down half the field alongside a returning L'Jarius Sneed.

For anyone staring at the betting board this weekend, this completely changes the math for the Denver offense. Bo Nix only managed 131 passing yards in that season opener, but he no longer has to worry about the guy who read his mind on the first drive of the year.

Delane will have to watch this one in street clothes while the training staff tries to get his shoulder right. If the Chiefs want to survive the AFC playoff gauntlet, they need their top pick back on the field and avoiding any more highlight-reel tackles.