The Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver room appears to be getting even thinner. Veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster exited Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers in the first quarter due to a hamstring injury. Smith-Schuster was officially questionable entering Sunday’s game due to “hamstring spasms” suffered during Thursday’s practice.
Update: At 5:35 p.m. CT, the Chiefs officially ruled Smith-Schuster out for the rest of the game. He did not return following his initial exit. The story continues below as originally published.
“Yeah, I think he’ll be fine,” head coach Andy Reid said of Smith-Schuster on Friday.
Later in his Friday media availability, Reid was later asked if the Chiefs would use a practice squad elevation for one of their reserve wide receivers (Justyn Ross, Nikko Remigio or Montrell Washington) and Reid tipped KC’s hand, as they ultimately did not elevate a receiver for Sunday’s showdown.
“We’ll see,” Reid said on Friday. “I mean, we’re gonna list him [Smith-Schuster] as questionable just in case something comes up, but he did good today [Friday], so we’ll see how he does tomorrow. But he was good today.”
If Smith-Schuster can’t return in San Francisco, the team will be down to four healthy wide receivers: Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore.
The Chiefs’ wide receiver woes have been the team’s top storyline through the early weeks of the 2024 NFL season. With Rashee Rice almost certainly lost for the season and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown reportedly set to be sidelined for at least the vast majority of it, Jordan Foote of Kansas City Chiefs On SI took note of a recent report from NFL insiders who indicated that the Chiefs “haven’t been overly aggressive on the market to this point.”
“[This] report signals that Kansas City might ride the current wave of production from its offense but keep its eyes peeled regarding external options,” Foote wrote. “Coming off Week 5’s huge performance against the New Orleans Saints, that makes at least some sense. In that outing, JuJu Smith-Schuster went over 100 receiving yards and rookie Xavier Worthy continued to showcase his growth. On the other hand, relying on an injury-prone wideout and a first-year player – along with 35-year-old tight end Travis Kelce – is an insanely risky proposition.”
