Chiefs' Clark says he's been playing with pinched neck nerve all season

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark has yet to meet expectations since his arrival at Arrowhead Stadium, and he shed some light on his struggles Sunday.

Clark returned to the lineup for Kansas City's Week 10 tilt against the Tennessee Titans after a two-game absence due to a neck injury but saw his team lose 35-32 and fall to 6-4 on the year.

After the contest, the 26-year-old admitted the injury has plagued him for most of the season.

"I've been playing kind of timid this whole season, that's why I've been kind of slow," he said, according to Nate Taylor of The Athletic. "I've had a pinched nerve since the end of training camp. I've been playing through it.

"It just got to a point where the shit was so serious it was sending burning sensations down my arm. ... I had to take precautions, get checked out, and make sure everything that I was doing football-wise wasn't going to affect my life after football."

A second-round pick in 2015, Clark became one of the star pass-rushers in the NFL after amassing 35 sacks in four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. He was traded to the Chiefs this offseason, signing a five-year, $105.5-million contract in Kansas City.

Clark has posted four sacks and three forced turnovers through eight games this season.

"I'm a football player at the end of the day, so I'm going to play through everything. If they tell me I can go, I'm going to go," he added.

The Chiefs' defense is allowing an average of more than 24 points and 148 rushing yards per game through 10 contests in 2019.

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