Xavier Worthy impresses Chiefs coach Reid and will play against Baltimore
Marquise Brown has been ruled out but Xavier Worthy and JuJu Smith-Schuster will play
Andy Reid is excited at the prospect of Xavier Worthy making his NFL debut in Thursday’s season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
Worthy, the Chiefs’ 2024 first-round draft pick, will be a part of the wide receiving crew tasked with working with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes when the teams meet at Arrowhead Stadium.
The 21-year-old has impressed Reid during preseason and the veteran coach is eager to see what he can produce when the action gets underway for real.
He said: “One that is unknown is Worthy having not played in an NFL game, a real NFL game other than a preseason game with him and practice.
“But what I’ve seen is they have a pretty good thing going and we’ll just see how it goes when things are flying here fast and furious.
“He spent a lot of time with Pat and receivers, the veteran guys, just figuring out what Pat’s expecting or where he needs to be or what the coaches are asking him to do. He’s not afraid to ask and then he’s been willing to try everything. So whether it’s an inside route, one of those intermediate routes with long routes, he’s been very willing to get in there and mix it up.
“So I like what I’ve seen. Just like with any rookie that’s coming into this thing, you want to see how they do in the games, but you’d think [Worthy would] probably do [well].”
Everything is impossible until it isn’t.@1GunnaGunna | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/ZsVwc9yj28
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 1, 2024
Hollywood Brown not fit for Ravens clash
Worthy’s hopes of getting an increased share of targets has been boosted by the unavailability of Marquise Brown.
Brown dislocated a shoulder on the Chiefs’ first offensive play of preseason and won’t be ready in time to face the Ravens.
Reid said: “Hollywood won’t be back this week and we’ll just see how it goes [from there]. But the kid’s amazing. I mean, his progress has been incredible, but I wouldn’t predict him being there this week.”
JuJu Smith-Schuster will play, though, after rejoining the Chiefs this week after a year with the New England Patriots.
“He looks great right now and he jumped right back in and had some good practices for us,” Reid said. “So it’s just a matter of him getting banged around a little bit. He’ll get all that as the season goes, but it’s good to have him back in the mix there, for sure.”