Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are down one wide receiver for the rest of the regular season after the team placed Skyy Moore on the injured reserve.
The Chiefs made the move on Monday after Moore left Sunday’s Week 15 game against the New England Patriots with a knee issue. In the aftermath of the contest, head coach Andy Reid revealed that Moore hurt his left knee and had some swelling.
“As far as injuries go, really Skyy Moore is the one that got – that had to leave the game. He hurt his left knee, just swelled up a little bit,” Reid said, via KMBC.
With just three games left on the regular season, the next chance for Skyy Moore to return would be in the postseason. However, that is if the Chiefs make a deep enough run to allow him to get back to game shape.
Even if Moore returns as well, his role with the Kansas City Chiefs is a bit questionable considering how much he has struggled with the team during the 2023 season.
Moore, who is a second-round pick in 2022, entered the new campaign with high expectations after a rookie year that saw him make 22 receptions for 250 yards on just three starts. Through 14 games this 2023, however, the youngster has struggled big time and has only tallied 21 receptions for 244 yards and one touchdown–all despite starting in eight games.
The former Western Michigan standout was unable to establish a prominent role on the Chiefs’ offense. And considering the lengthy spell on the sidelines that he’s facing, it’ll certainly be hard for him to get back to the rotation.
Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receivers Need To Improve To Help Patrick Mahomes
With Skyy Moore out for the time being, the focus will be on the Kansas City Chiefs’ other wide receivers. The group has been quite a problem for the team due to their frequent drops, and that will only be highlighted as the playoff nears and Andy Reid’s men gear up for it.
Rookie Rashee Rice has shown flashes of potential, though the Chiefs will surely want to see more consistency from him. As for Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Kadarius Toney, Kansas City will hope that they take care of the ball better and lessen their costly drops as much as possible.
For what it’s worth, Patrick Mahomes himself recently talked about how his wide receivers can improve their pass-catching, noting that they simply need more confidence, per NBC Sports.
“I think it’s all confidence. I think that those guys can catch the football. I’ve seen some of those guys make the best catches I think I’ve ever seen. So I think it’s just going out there playing confident, being them, and if they do that, that stuff will kind of help itself,” Mahomes said when asked about the wide receivers’ tendency to drop passes.
It’s up for the rest of the Chiefs WR group to respond to the challenge, and plenty of eyes will be on them.