![\"rr](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_8001,h_4500,x_0,y_71\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/arrowhead_report\/01je97g3q1f0r01ss8sj.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nWorthy, Kansas City\u2019s 2024 first-round pick, was a full participant throughout last week\u2019s practice. With that said,\u00a0his ankle swelled up on him\u00a0during the team\u2019s flight down to Jacksonville. That led to him being ruled \u201cquestionable\u201d to play on Monday, yet he played through any discomfort. He finished with 6 catches for 42 yards and a nine-yard run.<\/p>\n
Of course, Worthy is also playing through a torn labrum after he\u00a0dislocated his shoulder\u00a0in Week 1. That caused him to miss Weeks 2 and 3, only for him to post 5 catches for 83 yards and 2 carries for 38 yards in his triumphant Week 4 return.<\/p>\n
Prior to Week 5\u2019s loss, quarterback\u00a0Patrick Mahomes\u00a0spoke about whether Worthy exceeded expectations in that game.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, just you never know with coming off an injury. but that\u2019s what I expected from the beginning of the season,\u201d Mahomes said. \u201cI think the best way to put it is he\u2019s a guy that can win one-on-one against really everybody in the league. When you have that much explosiveness and you can run routes like he does, it brings a lot of attention to him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou saw that they had to make decisions if they were going to play man coverage or rather play zone coverage, and then it helped get other guys open as well. As well as just bringing energy. He has a lot of energy on the football field \u2014 he\u2019s got celebrations it seems like every single week. I think that\u2019s contagious, and it brought energy to the entire sideline and the entire team. It was a great thing to get him out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Considering Worthy was a\u00a0full participant in Wednesday\u2019s practice, this is a situation to monitor. It could either be merely an injury management day or signal a potential setback. Friday\u2019s participation will reveal a potential status for the weekend.<\/p>\n Until fellow wide receiver\u00a0Rashee Rice\u00a0returns from\u00a0suspension\u00a0\u2014 and potentially even after that \u2014 Worthy is the Chiefs\u2019 most dynamic pass catcher. The speedster broke the NFL Combine record for 40-yard dash time last year and while he doesn\u2019t quite have\u00a0Tyreek Hill-level acceleration in games, he\u2019s capable of factoring into just about every aspect of the offense. Worthy is the straw that currently stirs the drink, as evidenced in his Week 4 return.<\/p>\n The reigning AFC champions do have some other options at their disposal, though. Leading the team in targets and receptions is\u00a0Marquise \u201cHollywood\u201d Brown\u00a0with 40 and 26, respectively. He\u2019s no longer the athlete he once was, but Mahomes trusts him in short-range progressions like slants and run-pass options. Veteran\u00a0JuJu Smith-Schuster remains as steady as ever and is a complementary piece.<\/p>\n Two other intriguing players to watch are\u00a0Tyquan Thornton\u00a0and\u00a0Jalen Royals. Thornton is experiencing a\u00a0career renaissance\u00a0in Kansas City, already at a personal-high mark with a team-leading 272 receiving yards. He paces the NFL in average yards per reception at 20.9, highlighting his big-play ability. Royals, a rookie who opened the year battling knee tendonitis, has yet to break out. He played four snaps on Monday.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s tight end\u00a0Travis Kelce, who is averaging a career-low 48.6 yards per game with a career-high 70% success rate. Mahomes has weapons to throw to but in an ideal world, he won\u2019t have to experience life without both Worthy and Rice again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Following a Monday Night Football loss to the\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars, the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":109551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"rr](\"https:\/\/preview.redd.it\/xavier-worthy-now-has-8-tds-on-the-season-v0-o99kq52una8e1.jpeg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e104d88053952c61b7cb45cf2b538abfb1d47840\")
<\/figure>\n