ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Chiefs' lack of depth at cornerback was exposed in Pittsburgh

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Chiefs' lack of depth at cornerback was exposed in Pittsburgh
Adam Teicher
ESPN Staff Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Not that he alone was going to prevent Sunday night’s debacle in Pittsburgh, but the Kansas City Chiefs missed injured starting cornerback Phillip Gaines.

Gaines, who tore his ACL last season, had a setback in practice last week. Coach Andy Reid called it a “tweak,” but it was enough of one that the Chiefs deactivated Gaines against the Steelers.

“I’m not going to say he reinjured it," Reid said. “Whatever it was, we just decided to back off there. That’s how these things sometimes work.”

The Chiefs are hoping to have Phillip Gaines back after the bye week. Erik Williams/USA TODAY Sports
Without Gaines, the Chiefs lack of depth at cornerback was exposed. Steven Nelson started and rookie D.J. White was the third cornerback. White received his first extended playing time, and saying it didn’t go well is putting it kindly.

This is where the failure with this year's third-round draft pick, KeiVarae Russell, hurts the Chiefs. Russell was buried on the depth chart at the end of training camp and the Chiefs released him.

As a third-round pick, Russell should have been advanced enough to help in a pinch in a situation such as the one the Chiefs were faced with in Pittsburgh. But the Chiefs instead whiffed on the pick.

Even without Russell, it looked like the Chiefs had some depth at corner heading into the season. They felt comfortable moving a couple of cornerbacks, Jamell Fleming and rookie Eric Murray, to safety. Fleming has since been released.

They also traded Marcus Cooper, their most experienced cornerback, to the Arizona Cardinals.

But they were left with a bunch of young cornerbacks: Gaines, Nelson, White, Marcus Peters and Kenneth Acker. Without a true veteran in the bunch, the Chiefs should have expected the occasional rotten game.

That’s what they got in Pittsburgh.

Gaines could be back in time for the Chiefs’ next game on Oct. 16 against the Raiders in Oakland. If he’s not, or if the Chiefs have another cornerback injury somewhere else along the way, they got a glimpse in Pittsburgh of what that grim reality might be like.