Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver Xavier Worthy Leaves With Apparent Injury
Well, that didn’t take long. Less than two minutes into the NFL season opener, and the Kansas City Chiefs are already holding their collective breath. Second-year speedster Xavier Worthy, a man with sky-high expectations, is questionable to return after a brutal collision with… his own teammate? You can’t make this stuff up.
It was a tough scene for Chiefs Kingdom. On just the third play of the game, Worthy and Travis Kelce, two key cogs in KC’s system, managed to run a crossing route so poorly that they collided, sending Worthy careening to the turf. He landed hard on his right shoulder and was clearly in a world of hurt. After a brief moment on the field, he walked to the sideline, cradling his arm, and eventually disappeared into the X-ray room with a towel draped over his head. Not the triumphant start anyone in Kansas City envisioned.
A Blow To a Thin Wide Receiver Room
The timing of this injury is sprinkling salt on an already open wound for the Chiefs’ receiving corps. With Rashee Rice serving a six-game suspension, the spotlight was squarely on Worthy to step up and be a primary target for Patrick Mahomes. The plan was clear: get the ball in his hands early and often. They tried twice on the first three plays. The first was an end-around for no gain. The second ended with him on the ground and a stadium full of fans wondering if they’re cursed.
What Does This Mean For the Chiefs?
Losing a player of Worthy’s caliber, even for a short time, is a significant blow. The Chiefs were counting on his game-breaking speed to stretch the field and open things up for Kelce and the rest of the offense. If he’s out for any significant period, the pressure mounts on guys like Hollywood Brown and the rest of the unproven pass-catchers to fill a massive void. It’s a classic “next man up” situation, but let’s be honest, you can’t just replace the fastest man in NFL Combine history.
For now, the Chiefs have listed him as questionable to return. But as he walked off with that towel over his head, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. It was the kind of walk that says more than any official injury report ever could.
