The Kansas City Chiefs are dealing with a couple of notable absences in offense ahead of the 2024 NFL season opener against the Baltimore Ravens. However, Andy Reid believes Patrick Mahomes already has the weapons he needs on the team.
Before the Chiefs placed running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the reserve/non-football illness list on Monday, Reid confirmed veteran wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown will not make it to the Week 1 matchup.
And while the latter’s absence is definitely a huge blow for Mahomes and company, the Chiefs head coach believes veteran wideout Justin Watson has what it takes to step up on Thursday.
“Yeah, Justin’s always kind of a big part of it, silently. He doesn’t say much, and he doesn’t get into a lot of publicity. He’s always been a pretty big part of what we do,” Reid said Sunday. “That part won’t change. He’ll be in there running around, and even when Hollywood comes back, he’ll be in there running around. So he’s a smart, skilled kid who loves to play the game. Plays hard every snap, practice and games.”
Watson, 28, has been with the Chiefs since the 2022 NFL season. Before he contributed to the team’s consecutive Super Bowl wins in the last two years, the Pennsylvania native spent four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he celebrated the Super Bowl LV victory against Kansas City.
Watson hoping to improve chemistry with Mahomes
Heading into his third year with the team, Watson hopes to pay back the Chiefs’ trust in him with good performances on the field. And now that he’s expected to fill in Brown’s vacancy, the wideout aims to find an even stronger connection with Mahomes.
“Now in my third year, it’s really about getting on the same page with Pat when I’m coming out of my breaks, knowing exactly where he’s going to put the ball at — or in a certain play, how we’re attacking the defense,” Watson said in August.
“So, it’s been cool just picking up where we left off. [We’re] able to point to some past year’s film and say, ‘Hey, run it like you did last year against this team or that team’ — just continuing to build with the relationship with Pat.”
Watson knows the playbook in and out by now, so it will be interesting to see what role he can play in a revamped offense. With Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Travis Kelce drawing much of the attention, Watson may be the under-the-radar alternative Mahomes needs to take defenses by surprise.