Andy Reid Says Chiefs Have 'A Lot of Trust' in Practice Squad WRs Following Injuries

With two wideouts already hurt and JuJu Smith-Schuster suffering an injury as well, Andy Reid spoke about whether the Chiefs could promote one of their own.

October 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Coming into Week 7, the Kansas City Chiefs' wide receiver situation was already far worse than ideal. Because of long-term injuries to Marquise "Hollywood" Brown's shoulder and Rashee Rice's knee, the reigning Super Bowl champs were on thin ice for Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Then, disaster struck. Early on Sunday, JuJu Smith-Schuster had to exit the game with a hamstring injury that had already been bothering him during the week. Speaking to the media on Monday, head coach Andy Reid shared that the veteran wideout would miss Week 8's contest against the Las Vegas Raiders. Reid knowing about Smith-Schuster's status so soon isn't a good thing, further emphasizing just how dire things are at the receiver spot.

While a trade or free agent signing is still a possibility, promoting from within might be Kansas City's easiest solution for this week. Given that Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore are the club's only healthy and available receivers on the active roster, it's almost a requirement at this point.

That leaves three options for Sunday, if the team so chooses: Nikko Remigio, Justyn Ross and Montrell Washington. Could someone be elevated from the practice squad? While Reid seems confident in all of the options, he still has to sort that out with general manager Brett Veach.

“Really, all those guys on the practice squad we’ve got a lot of trust in and feel good about," Reid said. "We’ve talked about it a little bit [but] I’m going to get with Veach here after we’re done and we’ll go through everything. I just came out of an offensive meeting and I had a chance to talk to those guys [and] see what their thoughts were. We’ll see. I haven’t had a chance to really get with Veach on it.”

Of those choices, each brings strengths and potential drawbacks. Remigio, a former undrafted free agent, was a fan favorite at training camp back-to-back years and someone special teams coordinator Dave Toub was "pounding the table" for to make the 53-man roster this summer. That didn't end up being the case, however, following an underwhelming preseason stint. Still, Remigio has some return versatility and could be a slot receiver on offense.

Ross is likely the most intriguing of the bunch. The 24-year-old never quite made the impact some anticipated last season, hauling in six passes for 53 yards in 10 regular-season games. A suspension cut his year short, too, complicating things. Ross was waived in August but returned on a practice squad basis and has yet to get elevated this year. His ceiling is the highest here, although he's also the worst natural fit in the offense as he's more of a ball-winner and contested catch maestro who doesn't gain separation.

Washington, a third-year man, played in six games last year but didn't log a reception. Instead, he brought back eight punts for 61 yards and one kickoff for 20 yards. Toub is probably a fan of his profile, but Reid may not be as the veteran wideout played just two snaps on offense all year long. Like Remigio, he's a nice organizational depth piece, but there are questions from a receiving standpoint.

Those aren't exactly the most ringing of endorsements, yet that's exactly where the Chiefs are at. Perhaps they eventually land on their "perfect world" scenario and get some external help. Until then, though, they're stuck with what they have. While this writer doesn't necessarily think Reid actually has complete trust in the aforementioned three, he might not have a choice come Sunday.

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