Linebacker Nick Bolton of the Kansas City Chiefs concluded his virtual news conference, which lasted six minutes and twenty-one seconds, by remarking, “easy money.”
Bolton is genuinely in a position to profit financially, but it hasn’t arrived easily.
The tough linebacker gave his life two years ago by stopping the second-most players in NFL history to finish with 180 tackles. He battled through wrist and ankle injuries the previous year.
He will now enter his contract year in 2024, the final year of his $5.8 million, four-year rookie contract.
An extension that would keep him in Kansas City would be welcomed by the Missourian who was selected in the second round of the 2021 draft.“I’m trying to stay ahead of stuff,” Bolton said, “just trying to get comfortable, get things as strong as they were (before), get compression on my hand, my wrist, getting everything even on both sides because I haven’t been lifting on my left hand for a little bit.”Following his dislocated left wrist suffered on Oct. 22, Bolton is not only trying to get his left hand and arm as strong as his right, but he’s also trying to “prehab” to prevent injuries in 2024.
He’s training in Arizona while using the regimen prescribed by Chiefs assistant athletic trainer Julie Frymyer.
Bolton can train remotely because the Chiefs just started in Phase One of the offseason program, which is voluntary anyway. Week One consists of the first two weeks of the program with activities limited to meetings, strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation.
But in addition, because the team endured a grueling, 21-game season en route to winning Super Bowl LVIII, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is giving his team a breather and conducting his meetings online.
Reid fully supports Patrick Mahomes working out with the receivers in the quarterback’s native Texas rather than in Kansas City.
They work out or do rehab, run routes and then meet with the coaching staff virtually.
“It gives the guys a little more time away from here,” Reid said, “but at the same time getting some of their offseason evaluation work done and the opportunity to move forward into this next season.”
While Mahomes receives the play calls for the offense through his helmet on gamedays, Bolton does the same on the defensive side as the quarterback of that side of the ball.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has repeatedly praised the smarts of Bolton, the 24-year-old linebacker who gets his defense set.
Bolton’s 36-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Super Bowl LVII, coupled with his football acumen and tackling prowess, turned the tide for the Chiefs, who had fallen behind early in the game. Bolton has earned a contract extension, and the Chiefs traded shutdown corner L’Jarius Sneed to free up cap space. However, Bolton’s primary focus is leading a defence that finished second in yards allowed and points allowed in the previous season.
