All of a sudden, it seemed that the Kansas City Chiefs had a surplus of pass-catchers. With Xavier Worthy returning from injury and the end of Rashee Rice's suspension just around the corner, Patrick Mahomes seemed to have more mouths than he could feed in the passing game.
Notably, that opened up the door for speculation about a potential trade. Things changed over the weekend, though, and now any ideas of shipping a WR out of town need to be put on the back burner for the time being. Worthy is reportedly dealing with another injury, one that might force the Chiefs to reconsider any potential transactions.
Xavier Worthy's Health Will Continue to Be a Concern for Chiefs Fans
"I’m told Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy's ankle was a little swollen getting off the plane today," Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network wrote on X. "Chiefs put him on injury report as questionable as a precaution for now & will see how he feels tomorrow. Worthy was a full practice participant all week ahead of Monday game vs. Jaguars."
Worthy made an immediate impact in his return last week. He hauled in five receptions for 83 yards, including a 37-yard explosion, and he also had two carries for 38 rushing yards. Even if it was against the Baltimore Ravens' bottom-feeding defense, it was still an encouraging sign of what life could be with him around.
Still, after watching him miss multiple weeks with a shoulder injury before this new ankle injury popped up, it might be wise for the Chiefs to keep Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown and Tyquan Thornton around, instead of trading them for late-round picks like some fans and analysts suggested.
Before Worthy's return, Thornton had emerged as one of Patrick Mahomes' big-play targets. He had five catches for 71 yards and one touchdown in Week 4 before falling back to Earth with just one catch for 11 yards and a touchdown with Worthy back in the lineup. While not a star, Thornton appears to be in sync with his quarterback.
As for Brown, he was slightly disappointing in an expanded role, logging 22 receptions for 209 yards (9.5 yards per catch) and just one touchdown. Then again, as a veteran and big-play specialist, he should also be worth keeping around if Worthy's health continues to be a concern.
Worthy's talent and physical tools are evident, but there were always some questions about his durability. Standing at 5-foot-11 and just 165 pounds, he might not be cut out to deal with the physicality of the pros and the wear-and-tear that comes with playing in the league.