Xavier Worthy Absent for Third Consecutive Camp Practice – When Will He Return?

Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy is absent for his third consecutive training camp practice due to an illness. When could he return, and how much does his missed time matter?

Wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) runs past defensive back Jahdae Brown (23) during the first Texas Longhorns football practice of 2023 at the Frank Denius Fields on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Monday, March 6, 2023 / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman /

For the third consecutive day in St. Joseph, Missouri, Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy is absent from practice. The team publicly said Worthy is out with an illness, with later reports indicating Worthy was sidelined due to strep throat, leading the team to keep Worthy isolated while he recovers in St. Joe.

Worthy starred in what appears to be the most viral moment of NFL training camps so far when he caught a deep throw from an on-the-run Patrick Mahomes, leading to an eruption from the crowd and several of his teammates. But without the rookie speedster on the field for the third day in a row, how much should the Chiefs worry about Worthy?

GET USED TO IT 🔥

Mahomes scrambles to find Xavier Worthy DEEP for the touchdown pic.twitter.com/qqEQrwSuyO

— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) July 21, 2024

When is it time to worry about Worthy, and when could he return?

There's a lot of nuance needed in this part of the conversation, so I'll start with my takeaway for the sake of clarity: Worthy missing more practice time isn't a big deal at this point, but it is a deal.

Missing non-padded practices due to an illness is significantly less worrying than missing additional time with a hamstring injury, which kept Worthy out for the majority of the Chiefs' earlier offseason activities. Even the spring hamstring issue wasn't a major concern from my perspective, but any time a rookie pass-catcher loses reps while acclimating to an Andy Reid offense, that has to matter some amount. If you think Kadarius Toney's non-padded running back work matters, you have to believe that the lost reps will make Worthy's already-steep climb to a heavy workload at least a little bit steeper.

Regarding Worthy's return: It's not surprising that he would miss his third day with strep throat, especially considering the Chiefs' schedule. The team is off on Thursday before putting the pads on for Friday's practice. By keeping Worthy sidelined on Wednesday, he effectively gets two more days of rest before Worthy and the Chiefs' training staff tests his chances to return for the first day of padded practice.

Ultimately, a few days of non-padded practice reps won't keep Worthy from contributing in 2024. However, it does make his health even more important for the rest of camp, and he'll have to continue progressing quickly to take on a major workload early in the season.

Kelvin Joseph returns to training camp

The Chiefs' other recent absence, former Dallas Cowboys 2021 second-round pick cornerback Kelvin Joseph, returned to practice on Wednesday after missing time due to a personal reason.

Read More: No Surprise if Justin Reid Misses 'Majority' of Camp with Injury, Per Reports