NFL Odds: Chiefs could miss WR’s Xavier Worthy, Jalen Royals in Super Bowl rematch against Eagles
It will need to be a ‘next man up’ mentality for the Kansas City Chiefs when they host the Philadelphia Eagles in a Super Bowl rematch on Sunday.
The Chiefs could be missing wide receivers Xavier Worthy and rookie Jalen Royals due to injury in Week 2.
Here’s what we know.
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Early season injuries
Worthy suffered a shoulder injury in Kansas City’s season-opening loss to the Chargers in Brazil. The second-year receiver left the game after a hard collision with teammate Travis Kelce in KC’s opening drive.
When speaking to reporters on Monday, head coach Andy Reid said they are taking Worthy’s injury day-by-day.
“He’s rehabbing and working his shoulder,” Reid said, “and we’ll just see where it goes. See where we end up.”
Royals, a fourth round draft pick out of Utah State, missed Friday’s game because of a knee injury after not practicing last week.
“Jalen is doing a good job with his rehab, Reid said. “We’ll just see how that ends up this week. We’ve got a couple of days here that we’ve had. Guys are making good progress. But we’ll see where it rolls. If neither [Worthy or Royals] play, we’ve got guys that we played with the other night that are good football players.”
Depleted receiver group
Worthy and Royals join a long list of Chiefs’ receivers who either can’t play next week or are listed as questionable.
Rashee Rice is set to serve the second of a suspension in Week 2 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The suspension comes from his role in a March 2024 car accident that injured multiple people.
The loss of Worthy is particularly crushing because he was supposed to fill in for Rice’s early-season absence. Worthy is coming off a strong rookie campaign that saw him finish with 638 yards and six TDs on 59 receptions.
There’s now added pressure on Hollywood Brown to anchor the receiving corps. Brown led Kansas City with 99 yards on 10 catches in the Week 1 opener after sitting out most of last season with a shoulder injury.
Travis Kelce will also get a chance to get more involved after a down-year. Kelce had 47 yards and a touchdown on two receptions in Week 1.
The Chiefs host Philadelphia at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.
