Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs RB could make 1st start in Atlanta. His family can’t make it — for good reason

Kansas City Chiefs running back Carson Steele seems poised to make his first NFL start when KC travels to face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football.

If it happens, though, Steele will do it without any family members with him at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

There’s good reason for that, Steele said Friday in the locker room: His only sister, Kesslar, is getting married Sunday in his family’s hometown of Greenwood, Indiana.

Carson, it appears, is also getting out of groomsman duties. According to the family’s wedding site, Carson was set to stand up at the wedding as both brother of the bride and friend of the groom.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Carson Steele (42) warms up during practice at the Chiefs training complex on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Kansas City.
Kansas City Chiefs running back Carson Steele (42) warms up during practice at the Chiefs training complex on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Kansas City. Emily Curiel ecuriel@kcstar.com

“With Carson’s busy football schedule we’re keeping our fingers crossed that he will be able to make it to the wedding,” the site says, “as he is such an important part of both the Bride and Groom’s lives.”

Obviously, Steele’s situation has changed drastically over the last few months. He excelled in training camp to earn a spot on the Chiefs’ 53-man roster, and now appears in line for top running back duties Sunday after Isiah Pacheco had surgery this week for a broken fibula.

Steele, 21, received a vote of confidence from offensive coordinator Matt Nagy this week, who said the running back was “probably as ready as he could possibly be for being a young rookie player in this position for this team. So we’re excited about that.”

Sunday’s wedding will take place in the afternoon, and Steele said he believed the family would have some TVs around to check on how he was doing.

It sets up to be a memorable few hours for the Steele family, who will have plenty to celebrate if the day goes as planned.

This story was originally published September 20, 2024 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Chiefs RB could make 1st start in Atlanta. His family can’t make it — for good reason."

Jesse Newell
The Kansas City Star
Jesse Newell covered the Chiefs for The Star until August 2025. He won an EPPY for best sports blog and previously was named top beat writer in his circulation by AP’s Sports Editors. His interest in sports analytics comes from his math teacher father, who handed out rulers to Trick-or-Treaters each year.
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