The Kansas City Chiefs' nightmare of a season ended in the worst possible way. However, there are still three more games left to play, and while it's almost impossible to think of a silver lining, every game will be an opportunity.
With nothing to play for other than draft positioning at this point, Andy Reid should make the most of the chance to see what he has with his rookies. That's especially the case with Jalen Royals, who has been a non-factor this season.
The Chiefs Need to Unleash Jalen Royals to Close Season
Royals has played a total of 35 snaps on offense. He hasn't taken a snap on offense since Week 7, when he was out there for a career-high 16 plays. He has failed to record a stat on offense, logging just one kick return for 30 yards.
The Chiefs will need to decide their plans with Rashee Rice and whether he's worthy of receiving an extension. Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown, Tyquan Thornton, and JuJu Smith-Schuster will all be unrestricted free agents, and even if the Chiefs wanted to bring them all back, which sounds unlikely, they won't have that much wiggle room to do so.
Also, players are far less likely to take a discount or want to play for the Chiefs, knowing that Patrick Mahomes will be out for the season. Whether it's Gardner Minshew or someone else under center, the chances of this team being a contender next year look quite slim right now.
As such, it's only right that the Chiefs get a glimpse of what they have with their unproven players, and the final three games of the season are the perfect opportunity to do so. Royals showed flashes of playmaking ability in college, and his speed and acceleration could come in handy for a team that may not have a deep-ball threat by the time Mahomes is back on the field.
They don't have much to lose at this point, and it doesn't make much sense to keep the starters out there and risk injury while playing meaningless games. They might as well finally give those who barely played in the season a longer leash. It should be seen as an audition and a jumpstart to the offseason, and those invaluable reps should work wonders for their development. In the worst-case scenario, the season was already over anyway.