Kansas City Chiefs’ latest roster moves show exactly how they plan to combat wide receiver injuries for now
The Kansas City Chiefs signed Justin Watson to the practice squad and put Tyquan Thornton on IR ahead of their game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The team we saw kick off against the Las Vegas Raiders is not entirely the same team we will see against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Kansas City Chiefs lost two wide receivers in that game. Rashee Rice injured his hamstring, and Tyquan Thornton had a brutal ankle injury.
On Monday, head coach Andy Reid said Thornton has been moved to injured reserve. He also told reporters the Chiefs signed former Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson to the practice squad.
“We have elevated (linebacker) Cam Jones and also signed Justin Watson,” Andy Reid told reporters on Monday. “I’ll know more; they were in last week, Josh was doing his rehab last week, so I’ll have a better idea (soon).”
Chiefs need guys in the wide receiver room to step up big time
With what’s happened to the receiver room, the Chiefs will have to rely on some young guys to step up. Obviously, Xavier Worthy is the biggest name to watch.
“So Xavier had a strong game the other day,” Reid said. “He’s going to continue to be a target for sure. I don’t know how much his role will change, but he’s going to be part of the pass game. That will only continue on.”
Worthy can’t do it all by himself, though. And he won’t. There will be other guys mixed in. The Chiefs have two young wide receivers everyone has been waiting to see more from: Cyrus Allen and Jalen Royals.
“Tyquan was doing a tremendous job, and it was nice to see Xavier get a deep one in the game also,” Reid continued. “Then the other guys we will mix in. They have good speed and ability to get down the field as well. I think he (Cyrus Allen) would probably work into the mix there. He’s a good football player with good ability.”
Allen was a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft. He’s only played on offense for a handful of snaps, with just two targets. But he has played in all four games. Royals has three catches for 17 yards and a touchdown this year. He’s more likely to get big-time chances now than Allen.
But this has been something the Chiefs have struggled with the last few years. They have spent capital on receivers but haven’t gotten as much return on investment as many would have liked. Sunday is a good chance to get them going against a bad Chargers team.
