The Chiefs may have to navigate Sunday’s matchup with the Falcons without one of their most important offensive pieces.
Kenneth Walker, who entered the week with the second-most rushing yards in the NFL at 872, was a surprise injury concern on Friday after not appearing on Kansas City’s Week 10 injury report on Wednesday or Thursday. Andy Reid said Walker was kept out of practice because of a tight groin.
“We’ll see how he feels through this afternoon, with rehab, and through tomorrow,” Reid said of Walker.
The final injury report later listed Walker as questionable for the game against Atlanta.
That’s a sudden twist for a Chiefs team that had been counting on Walker to help keep the offense on schedule. He was coming off a big day in Kansas City’s 35-12 win over the New York Jets in Week 9, when he ran for 102 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Emmett Johnson also chipped in with six carries for 34 yards and a score in that win.
Walker has been a key part of an offense that has taken a step forward this season. The Chiefs are averaging 5.1 yards per rush, up from 4.2 yards per carry in 2025.
Kansas City also made a move to help the passing game before facing Atlanta, trading 2027 fourth- and fifth-round picks to the Indianapolis Colts for wide receiver Josh Downs and a 2027 seventh-round pick.
Patrick Mahomes said earlier in the week that he expects Downs to settle in quickly.
“He runs routes really well,” Mahomes said, via Pro Football Talk. “He sets them up really well where he will run a route early in the game that he sets up for another one later in the game. And then he has really good feel, you can tell, obviously, playing in the system that he has, he has a lot of read-type routes, and you can tell he knows how to get himself open, settle in the right zones, and win versus man [coverage] when he can.
“And so, I think it will be an easy transition for him to kind of do that stuff in our offense. Then, with how we do things, he can play a lot of different positions as we move receivers and tight ends around.”
Kansas City enters Sunday at 6-2, while Atlanta is 3-6.
In Other News...
Chiefs Suddenly Have A Familiar Late-Season Receiver Question
Marquise Brown is suddenly back on the market, with the Philadelphia Eagles reportedly waiving the veteran receiver after just four appearances this season. Brown signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia in March after spending the previous two seasons with the Chiefs, so his availability immediately brings a familiar name back into the conversation for Kansas City at a time when receiver depth always draws extra attention.
If Brown is claimed off waivers, he will finish the season elsewhere, which leaves the Chiefs to watch a situation that feels a little too familiar for this time of year. Even without any certainty about where he lands, his exit from Philadelphia reopens a late-season question Kansas City knows well: whether a former contributor might become part of the picture again when the stretch run gets tight. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Get A Familiar Sunday Broadcast For Rare Falcons Trip
The Chiefs rare trip to Atlanta comes with a familiar Sunday afternoon feel, at least for viewers back home. Kansas City will face the Falcons at noon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the game will air locally on KCTV (Ch. 5) with CBS Sports top broadcast team on the call.
For a team that has spent much of the season in the national spotlight, the broadcast assignment is another reminder of how closely every Chiefs game is being watched. The Week 10 slate also comes with a full set of NFL broadcast pairings, but this one stands out because of the matchup itself, with Kansas City heading to a building it does not visit often and trying to handle business on the road in a spot that has not been kind to the franchise in years. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Suddenly Face A Backfield Problem Ahead Of Falcons Game
Patrick Mahomes is expected to be out there for Week 10, which is a huge relief for Kansas City after the recent injury scare around its quarterback. But the bigger concern heading into the Falcons game may be the backfield, where Kenneth Walker III is suddenly in question because of a groin injury and did not practice Friday.
If Walker cannot go, the Chiefs would be looking at Emmett Johnson to step into the lead role against Atlanta. It is the kind of late-week shift that can change how a game is approached, especially for a team trying to keep its offense steady while managing a key health issue in the run game. [Read more 🡒]