Chiefs Get Massive Jaylen Watson Injury Update For Divisional Round Game vs. Texans
By Joe Summers
The Kansas City Chiefs' defense is officially getting starting CB Jaylen Watson back.
After reports surfaced on Thursday from Nate Taylor of The Athletic that Kansas City expected Watson to start, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN confirmed that the team is indeed activating Watson off the injured reserve list and he will play against the Houston Texans on Saturday in the Divisional Round.
Watson hasn't played since Week 7 but emerged as the clear replacement for L'Jarius Sneed to start alongside Trent McDuffie. Once he went down, Kansas City's secondary struggled. It's improved in recent weeks since reducing Nazeeh Johnson's snaps, though getting Watson back represents a major upgrade overall.
#Chiefs plan to activate CB Jaylen Watson off IR and play him vs. HOU, per source. Watson fractured his ankle in late October. @ByNateTaylor first on Watson's expected return to starting lineup. Chiefs could monitor snaps depending how he's feeling/playing. But he's a go
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 17, 2025
Chiefs CB Jaylen Watson Elevated to Active Roster for Texans Game
Originally a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Watson's start to the season made it look like Brett Veach and Steve Spagnuolo had struck gold at the position yet again.
He had 32 tackles prior to getting hurt, just one fewer than he did in 2023, and six deflected passes while allowing just a 53.3% completion percentage and 75.4 passer rating when targeted in coverage. Those marks are even better than now two-time All-Pro McDuffie's and as a result, Watson was graded as the 41st-best corner out of 223 qualified players at Pro Football Focus.
While it's not yet clear if Watson will play a full snap count, he'll start and presumably get the majority of playing time. Should he struggle, Joshua Williams can step right in and help pick up the slack.
Houston has an excellent passing attack on paper led by C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins. The Chiefs intercepted Stroud twice in the Week 16 victory even without Watson though, so Spagnuolo's unit clearly has reason to feel confident now that it's at full strength.
As things stand, Kansas City is an 8.5-point home favorite with -490 odds on the moneyline at FanDuel Sportsbook. Should the Chiefs get the job done, they'll host the winner of Bills vs. Ravens in the AFC Championship.
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