Wide receiver Sammy Watkins was unable to finish up practice on Monday for the Kansas City Chiefs due to a hip injury.
The Kansas City Chiefs paid handsomely to bring in Sammy Watkins this offseason in the hopes of creating an offensive juggernaut. However their ability to come together will depend on Watkins’ ability to stay on the field, an issue that raised its head in practice on Monday as Watkins was reportedly unable to finish practice due to something wrong with his hip.
No further details were given by the Chiefs about Watkins’ condition or how serious the injury is, but fans who were leery of the team spending $48 million over three years on Watkins were largely pointing to his inability to stay healthy as the primary reason for questioning the amount of money spent.
Fortunately, Watkins himself gave a bit of encouragement on Monday night when responding to a fan’s question on Twitter saying, “tell me you’re ok.” Here’s Watkins’ response:
Of course
— King me (@sammywatkins) August 6, 2018
So far, Watkins has more than looked the part in offseason training activities and training camp, so there’s no real reason to formulate any sort of response until more details are known. Let’s be clear that several players have already missed time in practice and returned including Kareem Hunt. Training camp is long and the Chiefs have no reason to rush any player along for the sake of getting him reps, especially a talent like Watkins. In short, until Andy Reid or someone else steps to a podium and says that Watkins is out for long period of time, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
That said, Watkins only started 8 games in 2016 and 13 games in 2015, missing time in both seasons with injuries (a calf injury in ’15 and a broken foot in ’16). Fans love to quote that Watkins has only started 16 games once in his four year career, but even last year he played in 15 and started in 14, so don’t let the story get too out of control here regarding Watkins’ health.
Until we know more details, we should all have a restrained concern about Watkins’ condition. He’s an exciting new offensive wrinkle, a diverse new target for Patrick Mahomes and someone who complicates an already frustrating offense for defensive coordinators. Here’s hoping he’s able to turn the corner and return to practice soon enough—or at least to be ready when it counts the most.