Every NFL player aims to have a special season once training camp begins, esspecially for those who were sidelined with an injury for a significant amount of time the year before. Kansas City Chiefs star middle linebacker Nick Bolton was one of those players last season.
Bolton suffered a nagging wrist injury in the Chiefs’ Week 2 contest with the Jacksonville Jaguars last September that held him out of action for eight games. On Monday, Bolton spoke to the media and shared his mindset as he prepares for the 2024 campaign coming back from injury.
“I got a lot true to myself, first and foremost, not necessarily to the outside,” Bolton started. “I feel I can play a lot better football. I think last year’s kind of the first year where I battled some adversity in terms of injuries in my career period, and so things like toughness with that, learning who I am as a person, learning who I can lean on outside of football.” Bolton explained.
“Now, I think it means to be a better person, a better leader, be able to learn and sit up from the outside and learn from [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] and [understand] why he calls different things, and it helps me play a little bit faster. So yeah, I’m excited for this year to get out there and show what I can do.”
Bolton’s wrist injury kept him out of action for three consecutive weeks before he was allowed to play in Weeks 6 and 7. This re-aggravated the injury and led to him being placed on injured reserve with a designation to return. Bolton remained on IR for the next five weeks until he was free to partake in four of the remaining regular season games.
“Not being able to use my whole left side [was tough]. Man, I have my wrists messed up. I had a cast on it, my elbow, my left ankle, so I was trying to get through a little Humpty Dumpty all the way to the Super Bowl.” said Bolton. “So I was trying to find a way to play, get out there, and give my team a chance to win. So that’s kind of what I was going through last year.”
Bolton started just eight games last season but played in all four of the Chiefs’ postseason matchups, leading to the team’s latest Super Bowl victory. For 2024, Bolton aims to get back on track by staying healthy for a full season. Which will be huge for the Chiefs as they look to secure a third-straight Lombardi trophy.
