The Chiefs are preparing to shuffle their roster coming out of the bye, with Tyquan Thornton expected to land on injured reserve and Justin Watson set to return to Kansas City.
Andy Reid said Monday on his weekly Zoom news conference that Thornton likely will be placed on IR after dislocating his ankle in the Week 4 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. To help fill the opening, the Chiefs are expected to activate linebacker Cam Jones from the practice squad.
Reid also confirmed the team is signing Watson, who spent the 2022 through 2024 seasons in Kansas City. The Star had reported over the weekend that Watson was set to visit Monday, and Reid made it clear the fit made sense.
“He was a good player for us when he was here,” Reid said of Watson. “He obviously can run fast - and he’s got great size.
He’s willing to do everything. He knows the offense.
He’s a smart kid. So we felt like he could come back in and, as needed, contribute and step in and go.
With just a slight review, he should be fine and good to go.”
Watson appeared in 50 regular-season games for the Chiefs and finished with 64 catches for 1,064 yards and seven touchdowns. He was released by the Houston Texans in late August as part of their final 53-man roster cuts.
There’s still some uncertainty elsewhere on the depth chart. Wide receiver Rashee Rice injured his hamstring in Week 4, while left tackle Josh Simmons continues recovering from the back injury he suffered in the preseason. Since players weren’t due back in the building until Tuesday, Reid said he didn’t yet have a firm read on either situation.
“I’ll know more (Wednesday),” Reid said of Rice and Simmons. “They were in last week, so Josh was here all week doing his rehab and stuff.
So we’ll see. They’ll be back in (Tuesday), and we’ll have a better idea of what’s going on.”
In Other News...
Chiefs Still Have A Left Tackle Problem They Cant Define
Josh Simmons entered the Chiefs plans with plenty of intrigue after a torn patellar tendon two years ago altered his draft path, and his recovery has been watched closely ever since. He did enough in rehab to win the starting job for the first five games of the 2025 season, which at least suggested Kansas City might have found some stability at left tackle after a long search for it.
Instead, the position remains unsettled because Simmons has barely been on the field since arriving in Kansas City. He has played in only eight of the teams 21 games since being drafted, and the club still does not have a clear timetable for when he might be back, leaving the Chiefs to keep sorting out the blind-side spot without a defined answer. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Got The Bye Week Break They Needed Before A Tricky Stretch
The bye week gave Kansas City a chance to sit back, rest up and watch the AFC West landscape shift around it while the Chiefs stayed undefeated at 4-0. Their lead in the division held firm as the Las Vegas Raiders fell to the New England Patriots, even as the Denver Broncos managed to win despite some offensive trouble, a reminder that the standings can look steadier than the football underneath them.
Now the attention turns to the bigger race, where the Chiefs are tracking the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens as some of the most relevant challengers, with Buffalo still set to take the field on Monday night. The next test on the schedule is a tricky one against the Los Angeles Chargers, and after a week off, Kansas City enters it with a little more clarity on the road ahead and a lot less margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Unbeaten Start Is Rewriting What Fans Thought About This Roster
The early weeks of the season have given Kansas City a very different kind of storyline than many around the league expected. A perfect 4-0 start has pushed the Chiefs into a place where the usual questions about aging stars and depth pieces have, at least for now, been replaced by evidence that this roster is producing in all the right places. Kenneth Walker III has been one of the biggest drivers of that surge, Travis Kelce has been dependable again, and rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane has already looked like he belongs after going sixth overall.
What makes the opening month especially interesting is how much of this success has come from players who were not penciled in as the main attraction when the season began. Kahlil Benson, in particular, has carved out an unexpected role up front, giving the Chiefs stability at a spot that often decides how far a team can go. The bigger question now is whether this fast start reflects a real reworking of what the roster can be, or just the kind of early-season momentum that still needs to survive the grind ahead. [Read more 🡒]