Andy Reid – Chiefs distribute the ball while Rashee Rice is out

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – 21-year-old Xavier Worthy suddenly finds himself as the Kansas City Chiefs' top wide receiver after they lost Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice to injuries.

Worthy, the Chiefs' first-round draft pick, leads the team's healthy wideouts in catches (9), yards (154) and touchdowns (2).

But coach Andy Reid said the Chiefs plan to distribute the ball to all of their receivers rather than asking Worthy alone to make up for lost production in the absence of Rice, who injured his right knee in the Chiefs' win over Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

“We have guys here who have experience in the game,” Reid said. “It's not that he's the only one, he doesn't have to be the only one. “We've got a good team there that we can use and we usually distribute the ball and that's what we continue to strive for become.”

Reid said the Chiefs did not have all of Rice's test results to confirm the extent of the injury, but he ruled the receiver out for Monday night's game against the New Orleans Saints. Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Sunday that Rice is feared to have suffered a torn ACL.

Worthy had three catches for 73 yards against the Chargers. One was a 54-yard touchdown, the other a 15-yard reception on third down late in the game that allowed the Chiefs to run out the clock.

“I thought Xavier showed what he could do,” Reid said. “He had a few other potential opportunities there that we didn't quite get to take advantage of, but you had a chance to at least see him operate out there and do some nice things as one of the primary receivers.

Reid suggested that JuJu Smith-Schuster and Skyy Moore are two wide receivers who could get more playing time. Smith-Schuster, the Chiefs' leading wide receiver in 2022, re-signed with the Chiefs over the summer after being released by the New England Patriots.

“Pat (Mahomes) has a lot of confidence in him,” Reid said. “He’s still a good football player.”

Moore, a second-round draft pick in 2022, has yet to develop into a consistently reliable receiver. He dropped a number of passes, including one against the Chargers.

“He gave us some good downs,” Reid said. “He had the one drop he knew he had to make yesterday on third down, but he gave us some good downs in those four games, so we're OK there.”''

Tight end Travis Kelce had his most productive game of the season against the Chargers, catching seven passes for 89 yards.

“It was nice to see that because we knew it was going to happen somewhere around here,” Reid said. “They played quite a bit of zone play, allowed Kelce to work in zone, and they didn't pressure him.” That.”

The Chiefs, who are also missing injured running back Isiah Pacheco, also got a boost from Kareem Hunt, who played his first game since signing. Hunt led the Chiefs with 69 yards rushing.

“We've all had a lot of trust in Kareem since he's been here and we kind of know how he's wired and he's been able to pick up things pretty quickly,” Reid said. “So I think we'll be fine as we move forward.” (his workload).''