Nico Johnson finds himself in a familiar set of circumstances with just about two weeks until the start of his second season with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Andalusia native right now is fighting for a starting spot at inside linebacker and has been doing so for quite some time.

Johnson has a good opportunity because Joe Mays underwent wrist surgery recently that put his teammate out indefinitely, according to The Kansas City Star.

Johnson, veterans Frank Zombo and James-Michael Johnson played in the Chiefs’ preseason game on Saturday against Minnesota at the inside linebacker position.

Johnson started and came away with three tackles and a quarterback hurry in a 22-snap performance.

“Nico has had a really good camp and is an improved player,” Kansas City defensive coordinator Bob Sutton told The Kansas City Star. “We’ve played Frank in there a little bit way before the injury training him because when you go to a (regular-season) game, you don’t always get your full complement of backups.

“To have a guy who can play both inside and outside is a real plus for us, depending what game we’re in and what situation we’re in where we might not get two-deep all the way across the board.”

The Chiefs will play Green Bay on Thursday night at 6 for their last preseason game. Kansas City and Green Bay played in Super Bowl 1.