After receiving some unfortunate news regarding the injury statuses of a couple of their players, the Kansas City Chiefs made a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday afternoon. The Chiefs watched two of their guys go down to injury – wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster suffered a hamstring injury early during the club’s Week 7 matchup with the 49ers last Sunday. Cornerback Jaylen Watson also went down with a fractured ankle later that day.
The Chiefs announced Watson was placed on the Reserved/Injury list, ending his 2024 campaign. He is expected to have surgery to repair his fibula and tibia, per NFL insider Jeremy Fowler. Watson was having a stellar season so far as one of the bright up-and-coming defensive backs in the NFL. Reports say there’s a slight chance he may return for the playoffs, but it’s not likely.
Watson finishes the 2024 season with 32 tackles and a career-best 53.3 completion percentage.
As for Smith-Schuster, head coach Andy Reid told reporters during his Monday presser that the veteran receiver would not be available for the Chiefs’ upcoming road game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Kansas City currently has just four WRs – rookie Xavier Worthy, Mecole Hardman, Justin Watson, and Skyy Moore – on the active roster.
Losing both Watson and Smith-Schuster are major blows to the roster. On Tuesday, general manager Brett Veach filled the void left by Watson in the secondary, the Chiefs activated DB Keith Taylor from the practice squad.
Taylor, 25, signed with Kansas City during the preseason after spending the last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers.
The Chiefs also announced they’ve brought back wide receiver Cornell Powell and quarterback Chris Olodokun to the practice squad. Powell was a former draft pick by the Chiefs in 2021 and spent the last three years on Kansas City’s practice team before getting the boot during final cuts over the summer.
The team also revealed the Cleveland Brown poached third-string and practice squad QB Bailey Zappe off the practice squad. Kansas City later announced they’ve signed Chris Olodokun to replace him.
