Chiefs Lose Young Playmaker for Super Bowl Rematch Against Eagles

Chiefs Lose Young Playmaker for Super Bowl Rematch Against Eagles
Sportsnaut Sportsnaut

Kansas City’s receiving corps has taken a major hit ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl rematch against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles.

The Chiefs announced Saturday that Xavier Worthy will be out with a shoulder injury. The second-year wide receiver suffered a separated shoulder in the team’s season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Worthy left the game after playing just three offensive snaps when he and tight end Travis Kelce collided.

Travis Kelce killed Xavier Worthy pic.twitter.com/BmuBNeTVWY

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 6, 2025

Head coach Andy Reid had told reporters Friday there was a “slim” chance Worthy could suit up, but that hope has now been dashed.

“He’s doing very well, yeah. He’s doing very well, so positive, all the stuff’s positive,” Reid said about Worthy, via NFL.com.

Depleted Receiving Room Puts Pressure on Mahomes

The Chiefs will already be without Rashee Rice, who is serving the second game of his six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after his conviction for causing a multi-vehicle crash in Dallas in March 2024.

With Worthy and Rice out, Patrick Mahomes will have to rely more heavily on Kelce, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and a group of depth receivers. In Kansas City’s Week 1 loss to Los Angeles, Mahomes finished with 258 passing yards and a touchdown while adding a team-high 57 rushing yards and another score.

Without Worthy and Rice, the Eagles secondary should perform much better than they did against Dallas — specifically cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who allowed five receptions for 103 yards.

Worthy made an immediate impact after Kansas City selected him in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, finishing the season with 638 receiving yards on 59 catches and six touchdowns. He also carried the ball 20 times for 104 yards and three scores.

Worthy had a career-high 157 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the Super Bowl, though most of that production came after Philadelphia had built a 40-6 lead.

More must-reads: