Jalen

Royals

Losing Smith for this one is unfortunate. The capable pass blocker will be missed against an ascending Cowboys pass-rush unit. Both Mitchell and Royals are healthy scratches. Gray was unable to practice this week, due to a concussion. This matchup should produce a high-scoring game environment.

He practiced in full on Thursday and Friday and would seemingly be on the optimistic side of questionable. Royals hasn’t played yet this season and it would be a surprise if he were fantasy-relevant right away even with the current state of the Chiefs wideout room.

Royals’ tendinitis has responded positively after a few weeks of rehab and he is now on track to at least be available for the Chiefs’ Week 3 game against the Giants. He can be speculatively stashed on fantasy benches this week, to see how things shake out. Kansas City’s passing offense is in need of reliable weapons.

It will be Royals’ first practice of the season after missing the opening two weeks while dealing with knee tendinitis. Reid was cagey when talking about Royals, saying, “He’s coming pretty good, we’ll see how he does here. He’s been out for a while.” Even if he is healthy for Week 3, it wouldn’t be surprising for the rookie to get another week off to ensure he doesn’t suffer any setbacks. For now, Royals is only on the radar in dynasty formats.

We expect Worthy to be limited in today’s session. It’s a step in the right direction after Worthy sat out during Wednesday’s practice. If Worthy can practice in full on Friday, he could be good to go for Week 2 against the Eagles, though sitting out at least one week seems likely. Stay tuned. Chiefs rookie WR Jalen Royals (knee tendinitis) will not practice today.

The fourth-round rookie is dealing with knee tendinitis that held him out of Kansas City’s Week 1 opener. He didn’t practice at all last week and isn’t expected to do so today. It sounds like Royals may need a few more weeks to get past the knee issue, leaving the Chiefs with Tyquan Thornton and JuJu Smith-Schuster as the second and third receivers until one of Xavier Worthy or Rashee Rice returns.

Royals will miss at least the first game of the season as he works through knee tendinitis that flared up in late August. The rookie was expected to be a rotational wideout and a special teams player to start the season. With Royals sidelined, look for JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hollywood Brown to see significant snaps in Week 1 against the Chargers. Both receivers will be borderline options in deeper fantasy formats.

Per head coach Andy Reid, Royals is the only player on the active roster who was unable to practice today. A 22-year-old player already dealing with tendinitis is less than ideal, but overall, this is great news. The Chiefs’ wide receiver corps was feeling a little thin following Rashee Rice’s six-game suspension. Hollywood Brown (ankle) returned to practice on August 18. Reports on his rehab have been sparse, but we take Reid’s comments on Royals as an indirect positive on Brown’s rehab.

Reid told reporters “it’d be a real rush” for Royals (knee) to play in Week 1 and that “it doesn’t look like he’ll make this week.” With Rashee Rice also missing the game due to suspension, the Chiefs are going to be understaffed against the Chargers. The wide receiver room will be led by Xavier Worthy with Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton behind him.

Worthy banged his head in Tuesday’s practice and left early. He will miss at least a few days while working his way through the league’s protocol, but this isn’t something that will cost him any time during the regular season. With Rashee Rice still expected to be hit with a multi-game suspension to start the year, Worthy remains in line to be the Chiefs top pass-catcher for Week 1. Hollywood Brown is also being held out of practice because of an ankle injury, clearing the way for some of Kansas City’s depth receivers to see more work with the first-team offense. Rookie Jalen Royals has already made a few splash plays in camp and could carve out a larger role if he shows up over the next week