Chiefs’ Andy Reid sets the record straight on Xavier Worthy’s concussion scare, gives injury update on Drue Tranquill after training camp exit
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid had some notable injury updates on Xavier Worthy and Drue Tranquill after Friday’s practice.
The Kansas City Chiefs were back in pads for Day 9 of training camp practice in St. Joseph, Missouri, at Missouri Western State University.
The injury list shrank since the team’s last practice on Wednesday, with WR Hollywood Brown (ankle), WR Skyy Moore (hamstring), TE Jake Briningstool (hamstring), S Deon Bush (hamstring), and CB Kristian Fulton (PUP/knee) still missing from practice. That’s a welcome sign for Kansas City with just over a week to go until their first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Among the new injury developments was the return of Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy, who was previously deemed to have a concussion. It turns out, after extra diligence and further examination by NFL and team doctors, Worthy didn’t have a concussion. During practice, the team also suffered a seemingly mysterious injury to one of their veteran linebackers, Drue Tranquill. Andy Reid spoke about both injuries during his post-practice media availability.
Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy wasn’t concussed in training camp, so what gives?
Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy left Tuesday’s training camp practice briefly with a head injury. He was able to return to practice and finish the day, but the following day, he was ruled out of practice with a concussion. On Friday, Worthy was back out at practice, which isn’t exactly consistent with the timing of a player clearing the NFL’s concussion protocols. So, what exactly was going on with the Chiefs’ second-year wide receiver? Chiefs HC Andy Reid explained the situation after practice on Friday.
“I can tell you about Xavier Worthy,” Reid began. “So, Xavier wasn’t — It ended up not being a concussion. We had both the NFL involved with the clearing and our (doctors), and he’s got a little liquid — He had a little liquid in his ear, and they took care of that. It was throwing his equilibrium off just a bit. So that’s a positive thing.”
While rare, misdiagnosis of head injuries can happen. It was thanks to Worthy’s persistence and the diligence of the NFL and Chiefs medical staff that they were able to track down the actual cause of his problems, correctly diagnose the issue, and get him back on the field as quickly as possible. The Chiefs won’t throw caution to the wind with something as serious as a potential head injury.
“Yeah, no, listen, he wanted to get back in,” Reid said. “He kept saying, ‘I don’t feel like I have a concussion.’ But you’ve got to go through the protocol. And so, you know, then they did. They got him up there and examined him. And it was what I said, so with the liquid in the ear, but I know that could throw you out of balance, and that’s where he was at. But he was convinced he didn’t have one all along. But that’s alright. I mean, we were cautious with it, and we’re always going to do that.”
Drue Tranquill’s early exit from Day 9 of training camp practice
The Chiefs had LB Drue Tranquill exit practice early, taking a ride back to the facility on the front of the cart for further evaluation on Friday. This came shortly after he made what could be described as one of the best plays of training camp, with a leaping interception in team drills against star QB Patrick Mahomes.
A few plays later, it seems that the injury transpired. According to KSHB-TV’s Nick Jacobs, he was slow to get up after a run play in team drills. Multiple media members noted that he was down on one knee before he walked slowly to the sideline under his own power to get checked out by the training staff. He was spotted standing on the sidelines near the training tent before getting on the cart to head back up the hill to the facility.
Andy Reid described the injury as non-contact, which seems to contradict what was seen on the field.
“Then (Drue) Tranquil hurt his back,” Reid said. “So he just strained his back a little bit, and it was really almost a non-contact thing. So we’ll just get him taken care of.”
Back injuries can be a bit tricky, especially when it pertains to a strain or tightness. We’ll see how things go, but I wouldn’t expect to see him out on the field again so quickly. He could miss a few practices or even preseason Week 1, depending on the severity of the strain. This could open up an opportunity for someone like Jeffrey Bassa or Cooper McDonald to get some action with the first-team defense in the meantime.
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