Xavier Worth has been ruled out of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rematch with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday after being injured in a collision with teammate Travis Kelce.
Wide receiver Worthy and tight end Kelce were running routes over the middle early in the first quarter of last week’s defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paolo, Brazil, when they collided.
Worthy, the fastest player in the history of the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, played no further part in the game. His injury set the tone for a sobering Week 1 defeat to their AFC West rivals, leaving star quarterback Patrick Mahomes in a very unfamiliar scenario this week.
It was initially feared that Worthy could face an extended period on the sidelines, but he was back in practice this week, albeit with a heavily padded right shoulder.
The former Texas speedster was a limited participant on Thursday and Friday, but after initially being listed as doubtful for Sunday’s showdown at Arrowhead Stadium, he has been officially declared out on Saturday’s injury report.
Confirmation of Worthy’s absence for the game is sure to hit four-time All-Pro tight end Kelce hard. The 35-year-old took the blame for the collision that left his teammate stricken.
“I owe my guy big time, man, X knows it. I felt like s—, I could barely even f—— the rest of that first half, man. But we girded up once I found out that he was in better spirits than I imagined,” Kelce said on his ‘New Heights’ podcast.
“I’ll take the most accountability myself. I wasn’t ready for that first drive, I ran into one of my guys and offed him out of the game. I literally took one of my players out.
“That’s one of the most frustrating parts and it’s hard to get your juices back going knowing you just hurt a guy.
“I’m supposed to be running my route at depth for Worthy, so it’s frustrating for me.
“I was trying to kind of set up my guy to be able to get in a position, and it all just happened pretty quick. And I just got to be better, man. I’m 13 years in the league.”
Worthy’s absence is a blow to a Chiefs offense that was left with many questions to answer after an underwhelming performance in Sao Paolo, which resulted in a 27-21 defeat.
Wideout Jalen Royals has also been ruled out for the Eagles matchup, but Drue Tranquill, Nick Bolton, Hollywood Brown and Jawaan Taylor were all full participants in Friday’s practice after starting the week on the injury report.
For the Eagles, tight end Dallas Goedert has been ruled out with a knee injury. Backup running back Will Shipley is out with an oblique, and tackle Cameron Williams misses out due to a shoulder issue.
