KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs will be down two more starters when they visit the Las Vegas Raiders after head coach Andy Reid reported both receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and cornerback Jaylen Watson won’t be available this week.
“I would tell you, Watson, it’s not, it’s not going to be good, and he won’t be ready this week,” Reid said during his weekly Monday press conference. “JuJu won’t be ready this week. So two different things there.”
Watson expects to be out long-term after the NFL Network reported he fractured his left ankle. He will undergo an MRI on Monday and additional testing to determine if any other damage needs to be repaired.
Watson left the game midway through the third quarter due to cramping on a day when the temperature at Levi’s Stadium was 77 at kickoff. He returned early in the fourth quarter, and on his first defensive snap back, he appeared to have his ankle stepped on while making a tackle on San Francisco running back Jordan Mason.
Nazeeh Johnson initially stepped in for Watson at the No. 2 corner position but he’s expected to battle for playing time with Joshua Williams and Chris Rolland-Wallace. Johnson is seeing his first NFL playing time on defense this season after suffering an ACL injury in August 2023, and Reid says he sees progress in the third-year corner who is part of the “Fab Five” of the 2022 draft class along with Watson, Williams, Trent McDuffie and Bryan Cook.
“Every week, he’s gotten better and stronger, and so that’s the main thing,” Reid said. “He’s a good player. He said he has the confidence in his leg and the leg’s strong, and that just happens by playing. So every week it’s been a positive going forward, and he’s ready for the spot.
“And (Wiliams) has also been in there. He’s done it, and so he knows what it takes. And two different body types, and we’ll need both of them, and they both need to step up. Watson was having a heck of a year, so now it’s these guys have an opportunity here to step in and do the same.”
At the receiver position, Smith-Schuster aggravated his hamstring during the first quarter and played just seven snaps before leaving the contest. Reid didn’t go into details regarding the extent of the injury but it’s not expected to be a long-term issue.
Smith-Schuster’s injury leaves the Chiefs with just four healthy receivers on the active roster: Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, and Skyy Moore. That quartet has accounted for 27 catches for 343 yards in six games, with Worthy contributing almost 60% of that output.
The most likely relief will come from the club’s practice squad where Justyn Ross, Niko Remigio and Montrell Washington are available for a promotion.
Reid is confident the group that have now under receivers coach Connor Embree can absorb the loss of Smith-Schuster.
“We, the coaches, I think do a good job with rotating guys in during practice, making sure that everybody knows everybody’s spot and that you can function,” Reid said. “Yesterday was smooth. Connor’s got a big part of that on his plate because he does all the substitutions, and trying to get everybody in on time and moving around is not (an) easy task when people go down.
“He did a good job the last couple (of) weeks with that just making sure things ran smooth. The calls were easy personnel wise, getting them in, and so I give him most of the credit there.”
