Chiefs defensive end B.J. Thompson awake, responsive after seizure, cardiac arrest on Thursday

The Kansas City Chiefs received good news on Friday afternoon. Defensive end B.J. Thompson is now awake and responsive after his medical scare on Thursday at OTAs. Thompson’s agent, Chris Turnage, provided an update to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, sharing that the defender’s prognosis is good after he had a seizure and went into cardiac arrest.

The former undrafted rookie free agent had the medical emergency during a special teams meeting on Thursday. Kansas City’s medical and training staffs tended to Thompson until an ambulance arrived to take him to a local hospital where he was put in stable condition. The team canceled the on-field practice that they had schedule and pushed it to Friday. They also moved media availability for head coach Andy Reid and players to Friday as well.

On Thursday afternoon, Turnage told Pelissero that Thompson was stable, but still unconscious at the hospital.

“BJ is still unconscious at this point, but he’s stable and vitals are good. His family asks for your continued prayers,” Turnage said yesterday.

Former Kansas City Chiefs running back La’Mical Perine posted on X on Thursday following the scary incident.

“Praying for my brother bj Thompson,” Perine, who is now with the Steelers, shared.

Thompson suffers seizure, cardiac arrest at OTAs

Thompson was a fifth-round pick for the Chiefs in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Stephen F. Austin. Thompson, an Arkansas native, initially started his career at Baylor before transferring to SFA in 2020. He became an immediate impact player for the Lumberjacks. The second-year defender saw action in one game as a rookie for the Chiefs, posting two tackles in a January matchup against the Chargers. He won his first Super Bowl ring with Kansas City in Super Bowl LVIII.

Thompson, an Arkansas native, initially started his career at Baylor before transferring to SFA in 2020. He became an immediate impact player for the Lumberjacks. He posted 8.5 tackles for loss and six sacks in 2020, and 12.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in 2021. In his final season before entering the draft, Thompson had 23 tackles, five sacks and two forced fumbles in 2022.

While at Baylor, he played in nine games as a freshman and made one start. In 2018, he had just two starts but played in 10 games. He finished second on the team with four sacks, adding 5.5 TFL and 15 total tackles.