

The Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes suffered a major blow just before departing for São Paulo ahead of their Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers as their rookie wide receiver, Jalen Royals, will not travel with the team.
Royals has been ruled out of the opening clash in Sao Paulo due to nursing a knee tendinitis issue and thus, he will play no part in Brazil on Friday, September 5.
Chiefs Season Opener in Brazil
The announcement was made via the team’s official X.com account, marking a significant setback for the Chiefs’ already-tested receiving corps which is already without Rashee Rice.
The timing of Royals’ absence is especially impactful following comments from Patrick Mahomes, who had recently pointed out that the Chargers have good defensive depth and it could be a tough night at the office.
“They’ve got depth at edge, d-tackle… it’ll be a test for the guys. Excited for the challenge and for the guys to get to go out there and showcase who they are,” Mahomes said, signaling readiness for the first AFC West contest against an LA squad that has not defeated Kansas City since 2021.
How severe is Jalen Royals’ injury?
Andy Reid confirmed that Royals had been managing knee tendinitis, which had already caused him to miss the preseason finale on August 22, and despite initial optimism, Royals’ condition has escalated to the point that he will be sidelined.
Meanwhile, Rice is already serving a six-game suspension due to a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy stemming from last year’s car crash, leaving the Chiefs thin at the wide receiver position.
Despite these setbacks, Kansas City’s roster was designed with potential disruptions in mind as eight wide receivers made the final 53-man roster, providing depth to offset injuries and suspensions.
Alongside Royals and Rice, the unit includes Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Nikko Remigio, and Jason Brownlee so Mahomes won’t be shy of targets in terms of literal volume.
Is Travis Kelce the key to the Kansas City Chiefs success in the 25/26 NFL season?
So with the wide receiver division already on the backfoot, could their veteran tight end, Travis Kelce, be the key to success for the Kansas City Chiefs when they open their campaign?
Across his career, the 35-year-old has made 1,004 receptions for 12,151 yards and a total of 77 touchdowns – although he struggled in 2024 by only making 823 yards for three scores.
Previously instrumental in the team’s successes in three Super Bowls, the chemistry with Mahomes could be key to unlocking as he gets ready for what could be his final season in the sport.
His motivation is high, impressing both his quarterback and his head coach, after a gruelling summer training camp and he showed solid numbers in his limited preseason outing by making two catches for 32 yards – averaging 16 per catch.
If he keeps up that average for the same number of receptions as the 2024/25 NFL season, he’d finish with a career-high 1,552 yards. Although this is unlikely, it would comfortably eclipse Brock Bowers’ 2024 tight end-leading haul of 1,194 yards.
This news was originally published on this post .
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