Andy Reid Discusses Xavier Worthy Usage, Sets Record Straight on Miscommunication

Head coach Andy Reid explained why rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy's workload dipped in Week 3 and cleared the rookie of blame on a miscommunication.

Sep 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) runs after a catch against the Atlanta Falcons in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy has had an uneven start to his NFL career. Worthy scored a pair of touchdowns in his NFL debut on 34 snaps (63% of the offensive workload) before playing 44 snaps (68%) in a quieter Week 2 showing. On Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, Worthy took just 50% of the offensive snaps (still 37 total reps as the Chiefs ran a season-high 74 offensive snaps) while JuJu Smith-Schuster ranked second among wide receiver snaps with 41 (55%).

When speaking to the media on Monday, head coach Andy Reid discussed Worthy's slight decrease in workload when asked how the young speedster is picking up the nuances of KC's offense.

"He's doing a great job with that," Reid said. "I pulled off on a couple of the routes just with some of the things they were doing, but he had a number of routes there in the first 15. I just chose to pull off him because of what they were doing. But he's doing a nice job for us. He'll have other games here where he has more grabs. He did a nice job with the quick game stuff that we were using him on."

Much of the discussion regarding Worthy's performance on Sunday night was impacted by an apparent miscommunication between Worthy and Patrick Mahomes late in the game as the Chiefs attempted to drain the clock. On Monday, Reid explained that the apparent miscue wasn't Worthy's fault.

"That actually wasn't him," Reid said, clearing Worthy. "That was his compadre [who] ran the wrong route, so he stopped so he didn't run into him. Pat checked to a play there and the communication got a little mixed up, so one of the routes wasn’t the right route. It wasn't his, though."

Interesting! https://t.co/SIfxaOo3LM pic.twitter.com/0KkxptFHjY

— Joshua Brisco (@jbbrisco) September 23, 2024

Read More: Week 4 Power Rankings Roundup: Chiefs No Longer Consensus No. 1 Despite 3-0 Start