Getty

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ initial 53-man roster cutdown is just a few short days away, and that means head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach will have several difficult decisions to make — one could even involve camp standout and rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals.

No, Royals won’t be cut. But there’s a scenario where he unexpectedly begins the season on the short-term injured reserve. This would allow Royals to return after Week 4.

The promising fourth-round draft pick popped up on Coach Reid’s injury report before the preseason finale on August 18, and the issue was a bit mysterious.

The Chiefs HC described it as “knee tendinitis,” but did not elaborate any further. Then, later in the week, concern over Royals’ injury grew a bit when he was ruled out for the preseason finale versus the Chicago Bears.

On August 23, Arrowhead Pride executive editor John Dixon took this situation one step further, predicting that Royals would begin the 2025 season on the injured reserve. This designation would also free up a roster spot for another wide receiver like Nikko Remigio.

Arrowhead Pride Explains Jalen Royals Injury Prediction

In total, Dixon and Arrowhead Pride only kept six receivers, including Rashee Rice.

“For most of the offseason, we’ve assumed that Rice would begin the season serving a suspension,” Dixon began his explanation. “But unless that situation is resolved in the next 48 hours, he’s going to be leading the wide receiver group. [Xavier] Worthy and [Hollywood] Brown are locks behind him.”

“Some would let go of [JuJu] Smith-Schuster, but we won’t,” the long-time KC writer continued. “We might never have predicted it during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he’s now the room’s steady, veteran hand. We think Kansas City will keep him.”

Finally, Dixon noted that “the Chiefs have a difficult choice to make between [Tyquan] Thornton, Remigio and rookie Jalen Royals.”

“All can fill important roles. None would probably survive the waiver wire,” he wrote. “So Kansas City chooses to put off that decision by placing Royals — who was held out of Friday’s game with a knee injury — on its Reserve/Injured list, identifying him as being eligible for a return designation. That allows the team to bring him back at any time after Game 4 — which might be about the time Rice begins serving his suspension.”

It’s hard to determine if this is a bit of wishful thinking from Dixon, as this move allows him to keep other players on the 53, or maybe it’s just a shrewd job of reading the tea leaves heading into the Chiefs’ roster cutdown.

Chiefs LB Jack Cochrane Could Circumvent 53-Man Roster Cutdown, Too

Similar to Royals, Dixon also predicted that linebacker and core special teamer Jack Cochrane would begin the season on the injured reserve. NFL teams can designate up to two preseason injuries to return from IR, and the veteran writer has KC using their two slots on Royals and Cochrane.

“We believe the Chiefs won’t want to expose [undrafted rookie LB Cooper] McDonald to the waiver wire, so they’ll do the same thing they did with the wide receivers: Jack Cochrane will go on short-term IR with his knee injury (he also didn’t play on Friday night) so McDonald can make the initial 53,” Dixon explained. “When it’s time for Cochrane to come back, the team will re-evaluate the situation.”

It should be noted that this time, Dixon and Arrowhead Pride were not alone. Chiefs Digest beat reporter Matt Derrick also predicted that Cochrane would start the season on IR on August 23.

“Cochrane’s knee bone bruise might be a blessing in disguise for the Chiefs if it allows them to keep McDonald,” Derrick told readers.

Adding: “The Chiefs may have wanted to hide the 6-foot-3, 240-pound TCU product during the preseason, but he ‘unfortunately’ posted 14 tackles, tied for 11th in the NFL in the preseason, and he added a 10-yard sack on Friday night.”

Michael Obermuller covers the NFL for Heavy Sports, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus include the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. Michael is an NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate. More about Michael Obermuller