With the Philadelphia Eagles coming to Arrowhead Stadium for a Super Bowl rematch this Sunday, Kansas City could be seriously short-handed. The buzz around the city of fountains isn’t about game strategies or draft talk—it’s about Xavier Worthy and rookie Jalen Royals, both of whom will miss the big matchup.

Worthy’s troubles began in the very first moments of the season opener in Brazil. He collided awkwardly with tight end Travis Kelce during a crossing route, which left him nursing a shoulder injury. According to analyst Deepak Chona, Worthy is currently on “Day to day,” with an average return estimated around three weeks. What’s more alarming, though, is that Deepak points out the high re-injury risk—about 50%. He emphasizes, “Most re-injuries happen w/in 1st month back,” hinting that rushing Worthy back could be a gamble the Chiefs can’t afford.

Meanwhile, Royals, the promising fourth-round pick, didn’t catch a single practice last week and missed the game on Friday night due to a knee injury. Chona reports Royals is dealing with “tendinitis” and likely will sit out Week 2 as the team plays it safe. The Chiefs don’t want to rush the young talent and risk more damage, especially in such a crucial stretch of the season.

To make matters worse, the Chiefs already face a massive hole in their wide receiver lineup. Rashee Rice sits out the second of his six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after a March 2024 car crash in Dallas. Losing both Royals and Worthy now means Kansas City steps onto the field against the high-flying Eagles with only a fraction of its primary receiving power.

Of course, the Chiefs were counting on Xavier Worthy’s speed and breakout rookie season to help them handle Rice’s absence. Worthy led the team’s wide receivers last season with 59 catches, 638 yards, and six touchdowns. But fate seemed to repeat itself after a friendly fire incident similar to last season, when Rice tore knee ligaments after a Mahomes collision during an interception. However, Andy Reid also addressed the injury situation.

Head coach’s perspective on the Xavier Worthy and Jalen Royals injuries

During his first presser before the Super Bowl rematch, head coach Andy Reid didn’t sugarcoat it. Talking about Xavier, Reid said, “He’s rehabbing and working his shoulder. We’ll just see where it goes. Day-by-day here. We’ll see where we end up.” Reid’s tone made it clear that nothing is set in stone yet, leaving fans at Arrowhead Stadium hanging.

Meanwhile, Jalen Royals isn’t out of the woods either. Reid shared a somewhat hopeful update about the rookie’s progress. “Jalen’s done a good job with his rehab,” Reid noted. “We’ll just see how that ends up this week. We’ve got a couple days here that we’ve had. Guys are making good progress with that, so we’ll see how he rolls.” The vibe coming from Kansas City is cautious optimism, but nobody’s making guarantees.

At this point, it’s looking more likely that Worthy won’t suit up this Sunday. That opens up several paths for the Chiefs. They could chase free agents like Odell Beckham Jr., former Chiefs Mecole Hardman or Kadarius Toney, or even Allen Robinson, who threw his hat into the ring on social media Friday night. Each option brings its own set of questions, but the urgency is real.

Interestingly, some even wonder if former Chiefs star Tyreek Hill—now with the Dolphins and in the final year of his contract – could make a surprise appearance. Yet, as Reid said Monday, if both Worthy and Royals can’t go, “If neither play, we’ve got the guys we played with the other night. They’re good football players.” At least the Chiefs aren’t totally flying blind.