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The Kansas City Chiefs have a decision to make with Justyn Ross set to return off the exempt list in Week 16, and it could involve fellow wide receiver Skyy Moore.
The latter struggled yet again versus the New England Patriots, leaving the game with just 16 offensive snaps and one negated target/reception that resulted in a fumble. After the win, head coach Andy Reid attributed the early departure to a left knee injury that “swole up a little bit,” but that didn’t stop analysts and fans from piling on Moore for his near mistake that was called back due to a penalty.
“That should be the last snap of Skyy Moore’s tenure with the Chiefs,” Sports Illustrated NFL staff writer Matt Verderame voiced on X after the negated fumble.
Yahoo Fantasy analyst Andy Behrens also urged the Chiefs to “JUST PUT MOORE ON THE SHELF UNTIL SUMMER 2024.” And one KC fan even suggested point blank that “I hope Ross takes Skyy’s role in this offense.”
Does Knee Injury Give Chiefs Excuse to Sit Skyy Moore Down the Stretch?
The Chiefs currently have six wide receivers on the 53-man roster entering Week 16. That does not include Ross, who must be activated sometime before the upcoming Christmas Day outing against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Unless KC wants to waste seven active roster spots on underperforming WRs, they’ll have to either release Richie James or free one up creatively. A-to-Z Sports Kansas City media member Charles Goldman discussed how Moore’s injury might allow that on December 17.
“Moore has 21 receptions for 244 yards and one receiving touchdown so far this season,” Goldman outlined. “He was on the injury report ahead of Week 14 with the knee injury, but he was not on the report leading up to the Week 15 game.”
“It sounds like this was a reinjury situation and setback on a previous injury,” the reporter deduced.
Continuing: “This is an injury to monitor as the team has a roster crunch coming up when Justyn Ross’ roster exemption expires during the upcoming week. The team will need a roster spot and if Moore is at risk of missing any time, he could wind up on injured reserve to make room for Ross.”
A move like this would also act as a nice excuse to sit the 2022 second rounder who has only recorded one catch over his past three outings.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid Backs Kadarius Toney After Week 15
Like Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney has seemingly been stuck in a continuous struggle in 2023. Neither youngster is in danger of being released — to be clear — but it’s possible that an offseason trade could come about this spring.
The Chiefs have found their new number one wide receiver in Rashee Rice, and the Toney-Moore duo is too similar. Marquez Valdes-Scantling also profiles as a likely offseason cut because of his cap hit, so this WR corps could look plenty different in 2024.
For now, Kansas City must make do with what they have — and Coach Reid has been very supportive of Toney despite key drops and penalties throughout the year. That was the case once again on December 17.
“I’m not down on Toney,” Big Red stated bluntly. “He does some good things for us, man. He’s a young guy. We’re not talking about somebody who has been in this league a long time.”
With Toney, there is certainly more upside than Moore — but the miscues have also been more crippling when they occur. Still, his presence brings a unique and dynamic threat that the defense must account for.
It will be interesting to see what the Chiefs decide to do at wide receiver in the coming weeks. Moore could continue to get snaps, be placed on the injured reserve, or just phased out of the offense completely. Decisions, decisions.
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