Chiefs praying early health edge lasts beyond Week 1

The NFL creates so many incredible storylines throughout the season. Parity is what helps make the league the best among the major sports. But the nature of the sport also creates a litany of injuries for teams throughout the year. The Kansas City Chiefs certainly felt the effects of that last season.

Hollywood Brown missed most of last year after getting hurt on the first play of the preseason. Isiah Pacheco was hurt early, leading to a largely empty campaign for him in 2024. Elsewhere, the Chiefs were managing ailments throughout the calendar.

The Chiefs enter 2025 healthier than expected, a key advantage as they face one of the NFL’s toughest early schedules.

Now, as the 2025 regular season gets set to kick off, Kansas City is about as healthy as they could have hoped for. The Chiefs really only have two players who played a fair number of snaps on injured reserve to open the season. Deon Bush, a special teams ace, is done for the year with an Achilles injury. Nazeeh Johnson is out for now but designated to return later in the season as he deals with a shoulder injury. Others on the IR list are mainly backups or depth players.

This health fortune is what any team would long for to start the season. But for the Chiefs specifically, it’s a major development because of their early schedule. Games against the Chargers, Eagles, Ravens, and Lions all await within the first six weeks. Those teams share a common objective: to play physically and wear opponents down. Having their best available options could help the Chiefs withstand that style.

Beyond the early schedule, having a fully healthy group at wide receiver is critical for Kansas City. With Rashee Rice serving a six-game suspension, having a clean bill of health at that spot is a huge bonus. It may seem like a small victory in the bigger picture, but given the lack of depth at wideout in recent years, giving Patrick Mahomes as deep a cast as possible without Rice is important.

That’s where the potential early-season returns could pay off for someone like Hollywood Brown. Xavier Worthy is likely viewed higher on the depth chart, but Brown flashed enough after his late-season return from injury. With a clean slate to open the year, Brown has a chance to build the trust the Chiefs were hoping to see from him last season.

Of course, Kansas City won’t be free of injuries this year. But if they can dodge the major blows that cratered parts of the roster early in 2024, the Chiefs could jump out to a fast start. If that comes to fruition, K.C. would be well-positioned for arguably their toughest stretch of the first half of the year.