Getty
The Kansas City Chiefs finally got some positive news about Xavier Worthy after his scary injury in the first game of the season.
The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a difficult loss to kick off the 2025-26 NFL season, and it’s certainly not the way that Kansas City wanted to see that start of the season go down. But, the reality is that the Chiefs lost in an upset game to the Los Angeles Chargers, and now, they’re 0-1 to start the season.
But, these are the Chiefs and players such as quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce aren’t going to let it get them down. If anything, this team is more determined than ever to have a solid rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, September 14. The Chiefs, of course, lost to the Eagles in the championship last season, so this is a high-profile rematch.
One of the roughest parts of watching the Chiefs’ season opener against the Chargers was seeing Xavier Worthy, their second-year wide receiver, going down after just a few plays with a shoulder injury. Worthy was taken out of the rest of that game, and since then, there have been some real concerns if the star player would miss several weeks due to the injury. Now, the Chefs have served up some new, good news about Worthy.
A Good Sign for Xavier Worthy of the Kansas City Chiefs
Earlier today, it was reported by senior Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen, and also by Heavy Sports, that Worthy was expected to be at practice on Thursday, September 11. “Jalen Royals (knee) won’t practice for the Chiefs today. Everybody else, including Xavier Worthy, is scheduled to work in some capacity,” McMullen stated on X.
Also, Worthy didn’t practice on Wednesday, September 11, with the Chiefs’ injury report noting that he would be out. Whether or not he participates in practice is often a sign of when he’ll be back on the field during actual games, so it’s important.
Well, McMullen was right, and Worthy was back at practice on Thursday and even participated in drills. This is a great sign that he hopefully won’t be out super long. View some footage above.
ESPN had an inside look at Worthy’s first day back at practice. “Worthy had extra padding on his right arm and made several catches on short throws from pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier and another team staffer,” Nate Taylor of ESPN stated in a September 11 feature. “Even more impressive, Worthy joined his fellow receivers for a drill early in the individual portion of practice.”
The Sports Animal added, “While running drills at practice Thursday, Worthy was wearing a white protective sleeve on his right arm that included padding at the upper arm and shoulder.”
Worthy was injured after running into Kelce on the third play of the opening game for the Chiefs against the Los Angeles Chargers. “It’s unfortunate how it happened,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said, referring to that play. “Kelce feels terrible, but Xavier, of all people, understands that things happen. What we’ve got to do is be able to move on from that and adapt to that, adjusting to that whole situation.”
Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is Still on Top
Before the season started, the “NFL Top 100” rankings were released, and for the seventh consecutive year, Mahomes was in the top 10, which is very impressive. Mahomes was No. 5, which were numbers voted on by the players themselves. Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley came in at No. 1.
Of Mahomes, NFL reporter Michael Baca said, “The two-time most valuable player once again faced adversity with a depleted receiving corps in 2024, resulting in the second straight year without a 1,000-yard pass catcher. Of course, that didn’t prevent Mahomes from leading Kansas City to a 15-1 record as a starter and a third straight Super Bowl appearance.”
Let’s hope Mahomes and the entire Chiefs crew are ready for the Eagles on Sunday. Whether Worthy plays is yet to be seen, but at least he’s in the right direction.
Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson
