Despite sporting a yellow, non-contact jersey for the entire offseason program, Kansas City Chiefs’ third-year wideout Xavier Worthy has drawn rave reviews at each open-media look at the team this spring.
Worthy entered 2025 expected to build on a strong rookie season. Unfortunately, he battled injuries for his entire second campaign, starting with a torn labrum on Kansas City’s first offensive play of the season. Worthy also battled an ankle injury thorughout the season.
Speaking to reporters on the
final day of the team’s mandatory minicamp, Worthy confirmed that he had shoulder surgery early in the offseason. The ankle injury was addressed through rest and rehab.
Worthy believes that the strength needed to recover from the shoulder injury may make him a stronger overall player.
“I had that surgery in January,” he recalled. “So, really it was just building on, getting stronger, getting back in the flow. Overall, I forgot who I told me, [but] it might have been the best thing for me. Learning how to be a pro and learning how to approach, obviously, the mental aspect of it and just getting your body prepared for certain things. So, I feel like I hit that the hardest this offseason.”
The receiver confirmed that the labrum was more of a limiting issue than he let on during last season. But he always had the approach that he would need to play through it and be ready to put it behind him the next season.
“I couldn’t run certain routes,” Worthy explained, “because some routes require you to be physical and throw guys by, and I couldn’t do that physically. It was limited thing that kind of was needed. It is what it is. I’ll come back this year and do what I need to do.”
As for the yellow jersey, it does not appear to have been Worthy’s idea. While he would not declare himself fully recovered, he is unconcerned about being ready when the games start.
“Not 100%, but [I’m] obviously just building there,” he remarked. “The labrum is a process thing, but that was just precautionary thing, something my doctor wanted.”
The Chiefs will need a big season from Worthy. The team defied expectations and chose not to make an aggressive addition to the room. The introspective Worthy understands why many expected his position to be a priority for Kansas City to address after a disappointing 2025 season.
“People always have their opinions,” he acknowledged. “We just need to go out there and do what we need to do as a unit. We didn’t do that last year. So, I could see why people say that, but we didn’t do what we needed to do, and obviously we need to step it up.”
He did touch on the two notable changes the Chiefs did make to the wide receivers room, starting with a new position coach in Chad O’Shea.
“Chad — his energy is unmatched,” declared Worthy. “Obviously, you guys could see it on a practice field. So, I feel like that’s something that that young guys kind of need — just somebody to push them and be out there with them in the fire.”
Worthy also sees a special talent in rookie Cyrus Allen — the fifth-round selection who, as of now, is Kansas City’s most notable player addition.
“Cyrus, he’s an electric route runner,” observed Worthy “He has an explosion. Obviously, good, good ball skills, hands and he’s a smart player. He just does a lot of young things that Coach Reid was getting on me about when I was younger.”
Of course, Worthy can no longer claim to be one of the younger players and knows the importance of breaking out in his third season.
One of the most frequent criticisms of Worthy is a perceived lack of chemistry with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He believes they will finally appear more on the same page in the coming season.
“This is going on my third year,” he said, “so I know kind of a lot of the throws and where he wants to make the throws, where he wants you to be in the zone and how he wants you to run certain routes. Obviously, building that and showing him now that I’m available — and I’m a reliable target.”
The third NFL season has important financial considerations as well. After 2026, the Chiefs will need to make a decision on whether to exercise a costly fifth-year option for their 2024 first-round selection. Worthy will also be eligible for a contract extension next season, and second contracts at the wide receiver position continue to become exponentially more lucrative.
Worthy echoed his new coach when asked about the prospects of an extension.
“Obviously, a second contract is the dream,” Worthy noted, “but I’m just focusing on the task at hand, one day at a time. Coach O’Shea says it all the time: focus on the task at hand and you’ll get what you want in the end. Just dominate each day, and I feel like I’ll get what I need at the end of the course of everything.”
