The Kansas City Chiefs are off to a good start for their 2026 campaign, where they are standing at a 4-0 record as the entire unit appears settled with each other. Yet, ahead of the Week 6 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs have sidelined one receiver, added another, and promoted a linebacker.
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“We have signed WR Justin Watson to the Practice Squad. We have placed WR Tyquan Thornton on Reserve/Injured. We have activated LB Cam Jones from the Practice Squad,” the Chiefs captioned an X post.
Wide receiver Tyquan Thornton was placed on the Reserve/Injured list because he suffered a dislocated ankle in the fourth quarter of Week 4 after catching a 55-yard deep pass from Patrick Mahomes.
As a result, Thornton is scheduled to undergo surgery and is expected to be sidelined for 3 to 4 months. Though a late-season or postseason return remains a possibility, for now, the Chiefs have to follow the mandatory procedure and move the 26-year-old WR to Injured Reserve (IR).
To mitigate depth concerns at receiver, the Chiefs signed three-time Super Bowl champion Justin Watson to their practice squad.
Watson spent three seasons (2022–2024) catching deep passes from Mahomes at Kansas City. But since he hasn’t had much game action for a year (having played just three games with Houston last season), he isn’t in condition to start immediately on the active roster.
Stashing him on the practice squad allows him to get back into football shape. As head coach Andy Reid noted, Watson is incredibly smart and already knows the terminology of the offense, meaning he can be elevated seamlessly to contribute the moment he is ready.
“He was a good player for us when he was here,” Reid said. “He obviously can run fast — and he’s got great size. He’s willing to do everything. He knows the offense. He’s a smart kid. So we felt like he could come back in and, as needed, contribute and step in and go. With just a slight review, he should be fine and good to go.”
Lastly, in a slightly surprising structural twist, the Chiefs did not immediately use Tyquan Thornton’s active roster spot on another wide receiver. Instead, they signed linebacker Cam Jones to the 53-man active roster from the practice squad.
Jones originally joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and played 38 total games (including playoffs) across the 2023 and 2024 seasons before a brief stint with the New York Jets last season.
Keeping that in mind, Jones brings veteran familiarity back to coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, which is ranked 12th in the league after allowing 317.8 yards per game. Along with that, the addition will also strengthen and offer critical linebacker depth behind starters Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill.
By doing this, the Chiefs patch their depth gaps with veteran players who require zero onboarding time as they gear up for their Week 6 game against the Los Angeles Chargers on October 18.