KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If Chiefs coach Andy Reid knows whether receivers Xavier Worthy or Jalen Royals will be ready to take the field for Sunday Night Football at the New York Giants, he didn’t give many clues in his Friday press conference.
“I know questions will be Xavier and so on, but I’ve just got to see,” Reid said. “I mean, he practiced today and did a good job. Royals practiced today, both of them ran around pretty good. Anyways, we’ll just see how it goes.”
Worthy has been out with a shoulder injury since the third play of the season after colliding with tight end Travis Kelce on a mesh route over the middle in Week 1 against the Chargers. Royals has been sidelined due to knee tendinitis since last playing in the team’s preseason game at Seattle on Aug. 15.
When asked if there was any hesitancy to put Worthy back on the field at risk of worsening his shoulder injury, Reid reiterated he would consult with Worthy and Rick Burkholder, the club’s vice president of sports medicine
“I’m gonna just see, see how it goes here,” Reid said. “We’ve got to see in the next two days — I’ve got to see how he did after practice here, I haven’t talked to him. I haven’t talked to Rick or him about it.
“I leave it up to the doctors and Rick and whatever they say,” Reid added. “We’ve practiced with them, we’ve practiced without them, and that’s how it goes. Whatever goes.”
There’s no doubt the Chiefs offense could use an injection of depth and enthusiasm after playing a short bench the first two weeks of the season, relying primarily on Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton at receiver. Getting Worthy, Royals or both back in the lineup could provide a jolt the Chiefs’ offense needs.
“Both of them are good players,” Reid said. “It helped that the other guys, I don’t want to take anything away from the other guys either, they’re doing a nice job.”
Mahomes Wrist OK
The Chiefs listed Patrick Mahomes on the injury report this week with a right wrist injury, yet he remained a full participant in practice each day.
Reid said Mahomes suffered the injury sometime during Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and he woke up Monday with inflammation in his right wrist.
“He couldn’t even tell you what play it was, but it swelled up a little bit overnight, and they got it down,” Reid. “He practiced the whole week, looked good.”
Danna, Fulton Out
Defensive end Mike Danna and CB Kristian Fulton have been ruled out for Sunday’s game at the Giants after exiting last week’s loss to the Eagles. Danna is dealing with a quad injury, while Fulton suffered an ankle injury in the contest.
Rookie defensive end Ashton Gillottee stepped in for Danna, playing 28 snaps while collecting three combined tackles, including bringing down running back Saquon Barkley for a 1-yard loss on the Eagles’ opening drive.
Rookie cornerback Nohl Williams stepped in for Fulton, who collected a tackle and an assist. In eight snaps, Fulton played six pass snaps and was targeted three times, breaking up deep passes intended for A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and allowing one catch for 1 yard to Brown.
Chiefs Injury Report
OUT: DE Mike Danna and CB Kristian Fulton
QUESTIONABLE: WR Xavier Worthy and WR Jalen Royals
Did not practice: DE Mike Danna (quad) and CB Kristian Fulton (knee)
Limited participation: WR Xavier Worthy
Full participation: WR Jalen Royals, LT Josh Simmons (illness), WR Hollywood Brown (ankle), DE Ashton Gillotte (elbow), QB Patrick Mahomes (wrist), DE Charles Omenihu (hand), RRT Jawaan Taylor (knee/ankle) and LB Drue Tranquill (knee)
Giants Injury Report
To be announced
