Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirms suspicions about WRs Xavier Worthy, Jalen Royals after Week 3 injury absences
The Kansas City Chiefs are taking things slowly with a pair of injured wide receivers.
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke to reporters on Monday about two of the team’s injury-related decisions in Week 3’s win over the New York Giants on Sunday night.
There was some optimism early in the week that WR Xavier Worthy would make his return from a Week 1 torn labrum and shoulder dislocation, but that didn’t happen after the receiver was ruled out on Saturday. After two consecutive full participation practices, fans also expected a Week 3 debut for rookie WR Jalen Royals. The fourth-round 2025 NFL Draft pick was active for the game, but didn’t play a single snap on offense or special teams.
What exactly went into those two decisions for Kansas City?
Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy is still not right following his shoulder dislocation
While there have been instances where Chiefs HC Andy Reid has allowed players to suit up after being limited throughout the practice week, this wasn’t one of them. Typically, Reid requires his players to participate in at least one full practice during the course of a three-day practice week to play them that week. Reid said this decision came down to Worthy simply not being right in those three practice sessions.
“Yeah, so he was real positive coming in, and he was mentally saying, ‘I’m going to play in the game,’ which you’ve got to kind of take that approach with that type of an injury,” Reid said of Worthy. “And he did, I mean, he came out and he practiced and did the best he could, but it just wasn’t right. And so between Xavier (Worthy) and the doctors and so on, we thought it was best if he didn’t play.”
It wasn’t about want-to or willpower, but whether Worthy could get the job done with his injury limitations. Reid will always defer to the doctors, but Worthy also seemed to agree that he wasn’t right. Despite having their backs against the wall with the 0-3 start, pushing it for a non-conference opponent wasn’t worth the risk of reinjury and putting him out there too soon.
Chiefs rookie WR Jalen Royals is still being brought along slowly
Many, myself included, thought Royals could make his NFL debut in Week 3 against the Giants, but even being active, that didn’t happen. Albeit logging two full practice sessions on Thursday and Friday, Chiefs HC Andy Reid kept Royals on the sidelines as a break glass in case of emergency option at wide receiver.
“Well, Jalen (Royals) just came back, so I had him there as kind of emergency in case we absolutely needed him,” Reid said. “But his first week of practice in a month was last week, and he’s a rookie, and so on. So this was really his first game of suiting up. And, I mean, you can figure out the rest of it, but he’ll, he’ll continue to work in there. It’s great to have him back.”
Ultimately, the team wants to set players up for success, and this might not have been the week to do that for Royals. Next week, in front of the home crowd, might be a different story.
Expert analysis on Xavier Worthy and Jalen Royals’ Week 4 injury outlooks
- Worthy had three limited practice sessions last week. If he practices in full capacity at any juncture ahead of Week 4, it’s a positive sign for his availability for a critical AFC game against the Ravens.
- Royals’ Week 4 participation is entirely dependent on when he gets out of Andy Reid’s “rookie jail.” He needs to prove that he’s not only healthy as he recovers from knee tendinitis, but capable of executing the game plan at a high level.