As unfortunate as it may be, injuries are a part of football. Even the most talented teams can have their seasons derailed by a bad run of injury luck.
At least so far, the Las Vegas Raiders have avoided season-altering injuries in training camp. Their AFC West rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs, haven’t been quite as fortunate.
The Chiefs are bleeding at the wide receiver position. Veteran Hollywood Brown was carted off the field earlier this week, but according to recent reports, he managed to avoid serious injury. It looked like the Chiefs were in the clear... until today.
Raiders key rival dealing with multiple receiver injuries in training camp
The Chiefs have announced that former first-round wide receiver Xavier Worthy has entered the concussion protocol. He'll join Skyy Moore on the sidelines after Moore sustained a hamstring injury.
With a potential Rashee Rice suspension still looming, the Chiefs should be entering full-on panic mode. Last season, they spent significant time without Rice and Brown. While it didn't derail Kansas City's season, the absences left the offense without an explosive element.
The Chiefs dropped from seventh in passing yards in 2023 to 11th in 2024. Not a major fall, but those margins can be crucial for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Of course, the Chiefs still managed to make it to their third straight Super Bowl, to the annoyance of Raider Nation.
At the time, they had veterans like DeAndre Hopkins to fill in for their injured receivers. With players like Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper still out there in free agency, it wouldn't be surprising to see Kansas City dip into the veteran market again.
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It's currently unclear how much time Worthy or Moore will miss with their current injuries. Even if Worthy is back before the start of the regular season, this injury could have an impact on his performance.
Training camp reps are crucial for young players. With every day he sits out, Worthy is missing the chance to connect with Patrick Mahomes, to refine his routes, and to get into game shape.
Worthy had an impressive rookie season, hauling in 78 passes for 925 yards and nine touchdowns. Coming into 2025, fans are expecting him to take the next step and become a true star. This training camp injury, as minor as it may seem, could keep him from doing that.
The Raiders will be breathing a sigh of relief if key Chiefs receivers are out when the two teams face off in Week 7. Las Vegas has a potential weakness at cornerback that could be exploited by a healthy Chiefs roster. Little things like these may make the difference in crucial divisional games.