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There’s new context for Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy’s shoulder injury.
As the Kansas City Chiefs‘ season continues, the club is hard at work preparing for a Week 2 outing against the Philadelphia Eagles. Having star wide receiver Xavier Worthy would help, although that probability still remains in question.
Worthy suffered what’s deemed a dislocated shoulder in Week 1’s opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. As the week of practice soon kicks off, there’s some new light being shed on his outlook.
Insider Says Xavier Worthy Could Be ‘Week-to-Week’ With Dislocated Shoulder
In a Monday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN insider Adam Schefter provided the latest on the Worthy injury. He reports that the former first-round pick is likely to miss time and figures to be “week-to-week” as he recovers.
“I think he’s probably going to miss a little bit of time here,” Schefter said. “He’ll probably be week-to-week with that dislocated shoulder. Obviously, he went down there, went out of the game [and] did not come back. They sent him for tests and they don’t think it’s too bad, too serious, but it does look like he could miss a little bit of time here. So you have no Xavier Worthy right now, Rashee Rice misses the first six games, so they’re a little shorthanded right now with some of their playmakers at the wide receiver position in Kansas City.”
Head coach Andy Reid spoke to the media on Monday as well. He didn’t have a significant update on Worthy, other than confirming he’s on the mend in some capacity.
“I know Xavier is the big question,” Reid said. “He’s rehabbing and working [on] his shoulder. We’ll see where it goes day-by-day here. We’ll see where we end up.”
Now that the Chiefs are back in Kansas City, they’ve likely conducted tests on Worthy’s shoulder. Giving him some time before delivering a ruling on surgery could mean multiple things. An optimistic outlook is the shoulder being strong or stable enough to recover on its own, then tested in-game with a brace. Of course, until there’s a definitive report, it’s hard to rule out surgical intervention.
As the Chiefs found out with wideout Marquise “Hollywood” Brown last season, upper-body injuries can be tricky.
Assessing Chiefs’ Wideout Landscape Should Worthy Miss More Time
The Worthy injury sent the Chiefs for a shock, especially considering the timing and nature of it. The speedy wideout ran into tight end Travis Kelce on a third-down mesh concept on their first drive, falling victim to friendly fire and subsequently being ruled out of the game. Speaking of Brown, that’s exactly who served as Patrick Mahomes‘ go-to target the rest of the way.
Brown led Kansas City in targets with 16, converting on 10 of them. On those 10 catches, he amassed 99 receiving yards. Forty-nine of those were thanks to a big-time heave from Mahomes in the fourth quarter. Brown’s involvement, especially with Rice suspended, projects to remain healthy.
Reliable veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster was the second-leading Chiefs receiver. He went 5-for-5 in targets to receptions, racking up 55 yards on the evening. Kelce had a pair of catches on Friday night, going for 47 yards. Tyquan Thornton‘s 38-yard grab insulated his 41-yard overall output.
If Worthy is out on Sunday, the wild card of the week could be rookie Jalen Royals. The fourth-round pick missed Week 1 due to knee tendonitis. Reid said he’s working towards a return but didn’t give a strong indication of his playing status either way.
Kansas City is no stranger to navigating injuries at receiver. This time around, they’ll wait for another Worthy development.
Jordan Foote is a seasoned sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com with an emphasis on the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. He has years of experience publishing NFL and MLB content for Sports Illustrated’s On SI vertical, in addition to a background in NBA coverage for multiple outlets. Foote is a Baker University alumnus, earning his degree in Mass Media. He’s based in Kansas City. More about Jordan Foote
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