Chiefs will need someone to step up in Sammy Watkins absence

The Kansas City Chiefs will need someone to step up in Sammy Watkins’ absence.

The Kansas City Chiefs are expected to be without wide receiver Sammy Watkins for the next couple games as he deals with a hamstring injury that flared up in Week 5. Now the team will test their depth chart as they hope to rebound from their first loss of the season.

Per ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, Watkins could miss games coming up for the Chiefs against both the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos.

Watkins came up injured in the Chiefs’ loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5. The offense was sluggish thereafter as the team lacked a physical option as the X receiver to be able to help move the chains and force the defense away from other primary options.

The Chiefs have Demarcus Robinson and Byron Pringle who could both step into a larger role. Robinson has shown he can be a primary option in games past, but he’s failed to consistently put it all together. As for Pringle, he’s completely unproven although he’s also been buried on the team’s depth chart.

Watkins has missed multiple games in every season for the Chiefs since he first signed before the 2018 season. A hamstring injury also cost him some time in 2019 and it also came up in 2018 in a game against the Denver Broncos. A foot injury also cost him several games in 2018 toward the end of the season.

Despite the injuries, Watkins has proven essential to the team’s offense at key times—most notably the postseason—and the Chiefs will count on having him healthy at the right time once again. For now, they’ll do what they can while he’s out and give him the rest and recovery he needs to be back on the field healthy for the stretch run.

Watkins has 21 catches for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2020 for the Chiefs.