In Friday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, Patrick Mahomes, with 291 career total TD passes, can break two records. One would be to tie or break Peyton Manning’s record of 293 TD passes in the first nine seasons in the NFL. Second would be breaking the tie at 245 with Dan Marino for most TD passes in a regular season before 30 years. However, the possibility of achieving this feat also falls on the entire offense. 

Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense was a little underwhelming despite their 15-2 run and a Super Bowl appearance. Patrick Mahomes’ form dipped, TE Travis Kelce wasn’t as healthy, and then came injuries to WRs Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown. HC Andy Reid, this time around, made sure that the lack of depth in his receiving corps would not be the reason for his high-octane offense’s fall. But despite keeping 8 spots in the 53-man roster for WRs, injuries have piled up. And just five days before the game against their AFC West rival, Mahomes and Reid have some sullen news.

Kansas City’s official X account tweeted, “WR Jalen Royals will not travel with the team. He is ruled OUT for Friday night’s game.” Jalen Royals has been managing knee tendonitis since the Chiefs’ second preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks. He had missed their preseason finale on August 22, but the team hoped for his return in week 1. But Reid addressed the media, assessing the rookie’s availability.

Last Friday, Reid stated, “Jalen continues to work to get himself better. Yeah, there’s – we’ll see how it goes, I mean it’ll be a, it’d be a real rush for this week for sure. So, it doesn’t look like he’ll probably make (it) this week, but should be ready to go as we go down the road here.” When the team returned to the turf to practice this Sunday, Reid added, “As far as the injuries go today for practice, really, Royals is the only one that they won’t practice. Everybody else will go.”

Other than Royals, who had 3 catches for 14 yards in the preseason, the Chiefs still nursing their injuries but participating in full drills include LB Drue Tranquill (back), Jack Cochrane (knee), and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (ankle). Moreover, Rashee Rice is already suspended for the first six games after violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy for his involvement in last year’s car crash.

Now Royals, who was expected to be a sneaky weapon in Andy Reid’s system, won’t even make the trip. With two key names already sidelined, the Chiefs’ wide receiver room is being tested before the season even gets rolling. But Kansas City didn’t walk into 2025 blind.

The Chiefs have actually built their roster with turbulence in mind, keeping eight wideouts on the final 53-man list. Xavier Worthy, Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Nikko Remigio, and Jason Brownlee round out the room alongside Rice and Royals. Brown’s health is its own subplot right now as well.

He’s coming off an ankle injury that wiped out his preseason reps, but Coach Reid brushed off any concern. “I think it will be OK. If he was younger, I’d probably be a little more worried about it. But he’s a veteran guy that kind of knows how to go about it, and I think he should be fine. And we’ve got guys who can rotate in, mix and match as we go.”

This isn’t new ground for KC. Just last year, Brown suffered a dislocated clavicle on the very first snap of preseason and wound up missing 14 straight games and then one more to wrap up his season. Rice, too, was sidelined by a knee issue for all but the starting four contests. In their absence, Worthy emerged as WR1, hauling in 59 catches as a rookie. That experience is why Reid and his staff are quite comfortable with the kind of storm they’re facing now. But no one would deny they’re not in a tough spot.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are walking on a tightrope

Kansas City isn’t walking into 2025 with the same firepower they had a year ago. Travis Kelce, 35, is running on borrowed time. Hollywood Brown is already flirting with the injury report. Xavier Worthy is still trying to swim in NFL waters that only get deeper and darker. Andy Reid’s playbook is fat, but his weapons look thin. And let’s be real, the September storm rolling in doesn’t care about resumes. For Mahomes, it means carrying more than ever because when the cast is shaky, the star has no choice but to steal the whole show.

And here’s where it gets tricky. In his first five years, Mahomes had shredded defenses from every angle, topping PFF grades with ease. He’s earned 90+ PFF grades in five of his seven seasons as a starter. But last season, he was in the eighth spot with an 84.6 PFF grade. Although it was more of a result of a shaky support cast and Mahomes was still elite, but he was not untouchable. This is the nitpicking tier where legends live, where every crack gets magnified under the lights. If Mahomes is going to keep Kansas City on top, that’s where he has to sharpen the blade again.

The season doesn’t even give the QB a soft launch with the opener being a home game for the Chargers. Reid warned what’s coming: “They’re a zone team, but the zones are tight… You can see why they were ranked so high.” Translation? The Chargers’ defense is a locked vault, sitting at second in zone coverage, and Mahomes has to find the key. The good thing is, Mahomes is the 6th most efficient QB against zone coverage. The question now is simple: can Mahomes still bend the impossible back in Kansas City’s favor?