The Kansas City Chiefs are facing a bit of uncertainty heading into their Week 6 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
They will be without wide receiver Tyquan Thornton, who is on injured reserve after dislocating his ankle back in Week 4. The Chiefs could also be down another receiver in Rashee Rice, who hasn’t practiced yet this week due to a hamstring injury.
Kansas City Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy Calls out All Pass Catchers to Step up Amid Injuries
With Thornton and potentially Rice out for Sunday, many are looking toward rookie Cyrus Allen finally getting an opportunity to play significant snaps. Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was asked if he believes Allen is ready to step up, and Bieniemy responded by saying all Chiefs pass catchers need to elevate their games.
“All of those guys need to be ready,” Bieniemy said. “Jalen (Royals) needs to be ready. Cyrus needs to be ready. Nikko (Remigio) needs to be ready. X-man (Xavier Worthy) needs to be ready. Noah Gray needs to be ready. Trav (Travis Kelce) needs to be ready. All the (running) backs need to be ready. Everybody has to fill shoes. It’s our job as a coaching staff making sure we’re putting guys into position, but on top of that, making sure that we’re not leaving any stones unturned.”
“All of those guys need to be ready. Jalen needs to be ready. Cyrus needs to be ready… X-Man needs to be ready… All the backs, they need to be ready.”
EB isn’t playing favorites. 😤
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Cyrus Allen, Jalen Royals Have Benefit of Preparation
The Chiefs just came off of their bye week, so Allen and Royals — as well as Kansas City’s coaching staff — have had time to prepare them for increased roles. Allen and Royals are getting more reps in practice than they usually do, which Bieniemy says will give them more confidence going to go into Sunday’s game.
“Sometimes some guys never have an opportunity to get any reps before they have to jump in,” Bieniemy continued. “But that’s all apart of being a professional. We coach these guys up every single week and every single day to be ready for that defining moment. Sometimes you’re not always going to get the physical reps. You got to take the mental reps. You have to be a student of the game. You got to take this game with you not just on the field, but take it home with you.
“It has to become who you are, so when given that opportunity, we’re counting on you to go out there and shine. Sometimes it’s not fair to those who haven’t received the amount of reps, but there’s plenty of players over the years that have just jumped in and taken advantage. These guys (Allen and Royals) have the opportunities to get reps. We expect them to go out and be who we expect them to be. They’re Kansas City Chiefs, we expect them to perform under the standards we expect them to.”
Eric Bieniemy Has Blunt Message for Chiefs as Injuries Pile Up