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The Kansas City Chiefs could be without Sammy Watkins for the next few weeks according to a new report.
Watkins suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. That injury will keep Watkins on the sideline according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who says that Watkins is expected to miss multiple weeks due to the injury.
Andy Reid spoke on the injury following the game, saying that Watkins, “tore his hamstring.” Adding the team would monitor things over the next few days in terms of the severity of the injury. Schefter reports that the evaluation of his injury is still ongoing. Missing a few weeks could suggest a slight tear that needs rest and not surgical repair.
Chiefs’ WR Sammy Watkins is expected to miss time, “possibly a couple weeks”, with a hamstring injury that doctors still are evaluating, per source. Chiefs scheduled to play at Buffalo and at Denver the next two weeks.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 12, 2020
With this injury, Watkins hasn’t had a full healthy season since he joined the Chiefs back in 2018. He missed six regular-season games in 2018 and two in 2019. Injured reserve could be an option for Watkins if the team expects him to miss three or more weeks with his injury. Teams are allowed to bring back an unlimited number of players from injured reserve and players only need to be on the list for three weeks before they’re allowed to be designated for return.
In any event, this is not great news for a Kansas City offense that has struggled at times this season. Watkins had 21 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns so far this season. Him being on the sidelines takes away another reliable target from Patrick Mahomes’ arsenal. The team will rely on a trio of receivers in his absence including Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson and Byron Pringle.
Hardman, in particular, is someone who has seen his snap count increase when Watkins left the game with an injury in Week 2 and again in Week 5. Andy Reid spoke a bit about Hardman’s performance during his press conference today, as reporters asked about potential replacement options for Watkins.
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