It is a worrying situation for the Kansas City Chiefs, who find themselves down O-2 for the first time since Patrick Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback of the franchise. A week 3 clash against the New York Giants offers them a chance to right the ship to some degree. However, with an offense that has been sputtering to make ends meet, the Chiefs need reinforcement quickly.
With Rashee Rice suspended till week 7 and Xavier Worthy remaining a question mark due to his shoulder injury, Kansas City might need to turn to its fourth-round rookie pick, Jalen Royals. After missing the first two weeks of action, will he finally make his debut on Sunday Night Football as the Chiefs try to register their first win of the season?
Will Jalen Royals Play Against the New York Giants?
The last two years have seen the offense take a backseat for head coach Andy Reid and Co. Even though they have still been wildly successful, the unit hasn’t moved up and down the field with aplomb.
This year, bringing back Hollywood Brown and drafting Royals, alongside the returning Rice and Worthy, were the potential solutions to the problem. However, Rice’s suspension and Worthy getting hurt on the first drive of the season complicated things further.
Add in a knee tendinitis injury that has kept Royals out since training camp, and some of the offensive problems for the Chiefs start to make sense. However, going into Week 3, there are a few potential positives that the fan base can look at.
Most notably, their rookie may make his debut against New York, with his official status upgraded to questionable after he was a full participant on Thursday and Friday.
In his final two years at Utah State, he tallied close to 1,900 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns, something the team will be hoping he can replicate almost immediately once he takes the field. Evidently, he was the top rookie to watch out for this season.
Simultaneously, Worthy was also given the questionable tag, though his participation was limited throughout the week. Their potential insertion back into the lineup is impossibly crucial for Kansas City.
Teams down 0-3 virtually never make the playoffs, with the 2018 Houston Texans the only team in the last 25 years to make that impossibility a reality. That drop off would be meteoric for a team that has been to three straight Super Bowls and won three of the last five.
