Others played more, but no Chiefs player was more exhausted after the final preseason game than cornerback Kristian Fulton.
He played 46 snaps against the Chicago Bears in his first action since last year’s playoffs. Fulton’s previous team, the Los Angeles Chargers, fell to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round.
“I was really sore,” Fulton said. “First time, getting in action, in pads, so I expected that.”
Fulton needed all the reps, and probably more. Rounding into game shape — or getting his “sea legs,” as Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo put it — is the objective: The Chiefs signed Fulton this offseason and his current and former teams square off in a much-anticipated season opener on Friday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Fulton’s other mission is broader in scope: Stay healthy. And that hasn’t been easy. Fulton never played more than 13 games in any of his four seasons with the Tennessee Titans, who made him a second-round pick in 2020. With the Chargers last year, he appeared in 15 games.
His latest issue was a knee injury that required clean-up surgery, followed by a recovery period that stretched into training camp. He missed more than two weeks of workouts with KC.
Neverthless, Fulton looms as a key figure in the Chiefs’ secondary. And he was eager to get on the field as soon as he could.
“Yeah, it was definitely frustrating because all the reps matter,” Fulton said. “That’s why we have OTAs. That’s why we have training camp. It was really frustrating for me to be on the sideline, you know, kind of just trying to learn from others, which I don’t have a problem learning from others. It’s just that all the reps matter.”
A starter throughout his NFL career, Fulton looked to step into a leading role when he signed a two-year, $20 million free-agent contract with Kansas City. He was seen as an upgrade over Nazeeh Johnson and Joshua Williams, and his work on the outside — along with Jaylen Watson — would allow Trent McDuffie to play to his strength in the slot, where he was named All-Pro in 2023.
Fulton was coming off his best NFL season, too, with a career-best 51 tackles and an interception that the Chiefs would prefer to forget. In Week 4, Fulton caught Patrick Mahomes’ overthrown ball, and it was on the return that Mahomes’ helmet rammed into Rashee Rice’s knee. Rice missed the rest of the season.
Heading into Friday’s showdown, Fulton is listed as the backup to Jaylen Watson, with McDuffie starting in the other cornerback spot. Rookie Nohl will back up McDuffie, with Williams providing depth.
Getting Fulton up to speed is an important piece of Spagnuolo’s plans.
“We’re going to need him,” the Chiefs coordinator said. “He’ll certainly play in the game. We’ll see where we get him in there.”