Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have been put to the test with a string of injuries early in the 2024 NFL season. The Kansas City Chiefs brought in DeAndre Hopkins to boost their depleted wide receiver room, but still had one more gap to fill.
This time, they turned to their practice squad. Shortly before the Week 8 divisional game against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs activated wide receiver Montrell Washington from the scout team to their 53-man roster.
The 25-year-old, who was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, has been with the Chiefs since August 2023. Washington made six appearances last year, and while he didn’t make any impact in offense, he did contribute on special teams.
Washington is not expected to play a significant role despite this promotion, but his presence does give Reid and Mahomes more depth at a wide receiver room that was hit by key injuries too early in the season.
Reid, Mahomes dealing with key absences at WR
The Chiefs’ first major setback on offense was Marquise “Hollywood” Brown , who suffered a sternoclavicular joint dislocation in the first preseason game. That was followed by Isiah Pacheco’s fractured fibula in Week 2, but the running back was replaced with the return of Kareem Hunt .
Kansas City’s woes at wide receiver continued when Mahomes accidentally tackled Rashee Rice in Week 4, causing a knee injury to his primary wideout. To make things worse, JuJu Smith-Schuster picked up a hamstring injury only a few weeks later.
Who are the Chiefs’ healthy wide receivers?
General manager Brett Veach reacted to this situation by getting Hopkins, giving Reid some relief at WR. The team lost yet another wideout with Skyy Moore also heading to Injured Reserve, but that move allowed the Chiefs to have Hopkins on the active roster. Right now, the healthy wideouts on the Chiefs’ roster are Hopkins, Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, and Washington.
Andy Reid believes in the Chiefs’ practice squad WRs
Before making the Hopkins trade official, the Chiefs turned to a familiar wide receiver by adding Cornell Powell to their practice squad. Reid ended up opting for Washington, but he made sure to have more players on the scout team before making a promotion.
While this move was forced by the string of injuries at the position, the Chiefs head coach had already made it clear that he likes Kansas City’s practice squad wide receivers. “Really, all those guys on the practice squad we’ve got a lot of trust in and feel good about,” Reid said earlier in October.