Chiefs Activate WR Montrell Washington from Practice Squad for Week 8 vs. Raiders

As their wide receiver room works to get healthy, the Chiefs are elevating Washington to potentially help on special teams in Week 8.

Aug 22, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Montrell Washington (80) celebrates after a catch against the Chicago Bears during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

With a wide receiver room that's banged up, the Kansas City Chiefs are adding a reinforcement ahead of Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Per an announcement from the team on its official X account, Kansas City has activated wideout Montrell Washington for Week 8 via Standard Elevation.

Washington, 25, is currently in his second season with the Chiefs. The former Denver Broncos fifth-round NFL Draft pick has hung around the organization for the last year-plus after originally signing with their practice squad back in August of 2023. Washington appeared in six games a season ago, failing to record a reception on offense but factoring into the special teams game for Dave Toub.

In those six contests, Washington brought back a kickoff for 20 yards and returned eight punts for 61 yards. He's a capable option who, like Nikko Remigio, offers special teams versatility coming off the practice squad. Justyn Ross, a fan favorite who originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Clemson in 2022, was a candidate to be called up for Week 8. Cornell Powell was also in the mix after signing back to the practice squad this week.

Kansas City is shorthanded at the receiver spot entering the Raiders game. Not only is Skyy Moore on the injured reserve list with a core muscle ailment, but JuJu Smith-Schuster will miss Week 8 as he rehabs a hamstring injury that held him out of practice. Head coach Andy Reid expressed his confidence in whomever ultimately would get activated for Sunday, and it's possible that Toub influenced the club's decision.

Washington will join rookie Xavier Worthy and veterans Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman and DeAndre Hopkins this weekend. As the team's work to get Hopkins as ready to play as possible following a trade ramps up, there's now another familiar face in the fold to help facilitate that onboarding process.

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