Chiefs Lose Two Cornerbacks on Eve of Broncos Showdown

The Kansas City Chiefs' secondary took two significant hits on Saturday, on the eve of Sunday's rivalry game against the Denver Broncos. Rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane was downgraded to out with a shoulder injury, while veteran cornerback L'Jarius Sneed was placed on injured reserve, ruling him out for at least the next four games. Delane was added to the injury report on Thursday as a non-participant after hurting his shoulder in Wednesday's practice, having already dealt with a shoulder problem in training camp and aggravating it again in Week 1. Sneed missed Wednesday's practice with a personal matter and a knee issue, returned for limited work on Thursday and Friday, and had carried a questionable designation before the Chiefs made the injured-reserve call. Kansas City responded by signing cornerback Melvin Smith to the active roster from the practice squad and activating defensive end Tyreke Smith to the game-day roster. The timing could hardly be worse, with Denver quarterback Bo Nix and head coach Sean Payton now facing a depleted cornerback rotation, although the Broncos still have their own doubts, with receiver Jaylen Waddle questionable with a chest injury and left tackle Garett Bolles questionable with a hip problem. Kansas City must now find a way to cover Denver's receivers without two of its rotation options in one of the season's biggest divisional tests.