Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has shed light on BJ Thompson’s condition after the scary situation that unfolded during a team meeting on Thursday. Thompson and teammates were in the middle of a special teams meeting, when the 25-year-old went into cardiac arrest. This led to the Chiefs postponing OTA practice, with news later filtering out that Thompson was in stable condition in hospital.
Spagnuolo speaks
Spagnuolo broke the Chiefs’ silence while speaking at a charity softball game hosted by Chiefs players Justin Reid and Trey Smith. “Let me say this before I say anything, I’m thinking about BJ right now,” Spagnuolo stated on Thursday evening as per Fox4KC. “It was scary. I think the guys were a little bit scared, I know I was. But a lot of praying and [head athletic trainer] Rick [Burkholder] and his staff did a terrific job.”
Spagnuolo added that he wasn’t in the room when the medical emergency happened given it was a special teams meeting, but he did praise those who stepped in to help Thompson. “But everybody you know, to a man to a person to a woman, because we have some female trainers, they were terrific, they did a great job,” he said. “So we’ll keep our fingers crossed. I’ll let Andy handle the rest of that.”
The charity event was hosted by Reid and Smith after Marquez Valdez-Scantling, who was initially in charge, was traded away to the Buffalo Bills earlier this offseason. Although the Chiefs cancelled practice ahead of the charity event on Thursday, they are expected to return to practice on Friday. Thompson was drafted by the Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft after playing college football at Stephen F. Austin University. His only appearance for the team came against the Los Angeles Chargers in the final game of last season.
