Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Chiefs get more bad WR news just three plays into the season

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 9:09 AM ET

Wide receiver has been a constant problem for the Kansas City Chiefs over the past couple of seasons, and things are not going any better in the early part of the 2025 season. They continued to get worse in the season-opener on Friday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Xavier Worthy leaves with shoulder injury

The Chiefs lost second-year wide receiver Xavier Worthy just three plays into the game due to a shoulder injury when he accidentally collided with teammate Travis Kelce on a crossing route.

Worthy immediately dropped to the ground and had to be helped off the field, and he was then escorted to the locker room.

He was initially said to be questionable to return, but was then quickly downgraded to out.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Worthy caught 59 passes for 638 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie and was expected to take on an even bigger role in the offense this season. Assuming his injury is not serious, he still likely will do that, but any sort of absence is going to be a problem for a Chiefs team that is already dealing with depth issues at the position.

Chiefs already dealing with a key wide receiver absence

Even before Worthy's injury, the Chiefs were already short-handed at the position due to the six-game suspension handed out to Rashee Rice.

Rice was a rookie sensation two years but then missed most of the 2024 season due to injury before getting suspended to start this season.

Without Rice and Worthy, that would leave the Chiefs without two of their top wide receiver options for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

That will put added pressure on Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, Juju Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton.

Kelce will still be the primary target in the passing game, but he still needs some help on the outside. That could be a problem in the short term.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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