USA TODAY Sports

Jaylen Watson to Miss Chiefs’ Thursday Practice With Shoulder Injury

Originally posted on Kansas City Chiefs on SI
By Jordan Foote | Last updated 9/28/23

The Kansas City Chiefs are closing in on their Sunday Night Football matchup against the New York Jets, although the club's injury situation is far from perfect as Week 4 arrives.

On Wednesday, starting linebacker Nick Bolton and backup tight end Noah Gray missed practice as they dealt with a sprained ankle and an illness, respectively. On top of that, wide receiver Kadarius Toney (toe) and defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin) got some work in but were limited participants. A staggering 10 other members of the team were listed on the first official injury report of the week, but those players were all full participants in Wednesday's practice.

The same duo of Bolton and Gray is set to sit out of practice once again, but Thursday's list will see at least one change. Second-year cornerback Jaylen Watson, who fully participated on Wednesday with a shoulder injury, will not practice with his teammates on Thursday.

While it's unclear exactly how much this will impact Watson's potential availability for Sunday night's game against the Jets, going from a full participant one day to a non-participant the next isn't ever a positive sign. Additional clarity could come when head coach Andy Reid delivers a brief update on Friday afternoon, as Reid will provide the latest on the team's injured players. Not too long thereafter, Kansas City will release official game day injury designations (out, doubtful or questionable) for this week's game.

Watson, a seventh-round pick last year, didn't log a single defensive snap in the Chiefs' season opener against the Detroit Lions but went on to play 21 and 29 snaps for Steve Spagnuolo's unit over the next two weeks. The former Washington State standout has three tackles on the year after logging 49 as a rookie. Watson may trail L'Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie and Joshua Williams on the depth chart, yet the team would still greatly benefit from him being available as an insurance policy and sub-package option. With Kansas City having no proven players behind Watson, their hope is that he will be good to go for Week 4 despite this recent development.

This article first appeared on Kansas City Chiefs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: