The Kansas City Chiefs knew they had some work to do after losing in the Super Bowl earlier this year. The Philadelphia Eagles embarrassed a team slowly building one of the top dynasties in recent memory. Patrick Mahomes was stuck in one of the worst offensive seasons of his career. The team addressed that in the offseason with WR Jalen Royals. That said, his injury designation is far from ideal.
Kansas City Chiefs Rule Out WR Jalen Royals For Week 1
Ari Meirov officially confirmed that Jalen Royals will not make his NFL debut in Week 1. The 22-year-old had three preseason receptions, but a knee injury keeps him out of action.
In fact, Meirov reports that Royals won’t even travel to the team as they open their season this Friday, September 5, in Brazil.
Injury update: The #Chiefs have ruled out rookie WR Jalen Royals for Friday night’s game vs. the #Chargers in Brazil.
He won’t travel with the team due to a knee injury. pic.twitter.com/IeBdLTjB4J
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 3, 2025
YouTube is the official home of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1. The game starts at 8PM E.T. and will be the first NFL game exclusively broadcast on YouTube. With potentially a record number of fans watching, Mahomes will be stuck without the team’s newest receiver.
According to the team’s first unofficial depth chart, Royals was listed as WR2 behind Hollywood Brown. It’s safe to assume that Xavier Worthy and JuJu Smith-Schuster would all have seen more snaps and targets come their way. Royals’ knee injury causes room for concern, though the team would rather have him as healthy as possible with such a long travel day ahead.
Even though 2024 was a down year for Travis Kelce, he still led the team with 823 receiving yards. Xavier Worthy, one of the few receivers to play all 17 games, had 638 yards and a team-high six touchdowns. TE Noah Gray and DeAndre Hopkins were tied at third with 437 yards each. Hopkins is no longer on the team, which leaves plenty of opportunities for Royal to shine.
Ultimately, his moment will have to wait. Worthy has already proven himself as a young, speedy, reliable target for Mahomes. It didn’t take long for the two to click, though Mahomes was able to maneuver his way through a difficult 2024 season. Rashee Rice’s suspension also leaves room for the Royals to make an immediate impact upon his return.
Royals signed a four-year, $5 million rookie contract with the team. He was selected No. 133 overall as the only wide receiver the team drafted. Only three of Kansas City’s draft picks went towards upgrading their offense.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.profootballnetwork.com ’
