Chiefs' Xavier Worthy Puts Positive Spin on Injury-Riddled 2025 NFL Season

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy was supposed to ascend and, at least for the first six weeks while Rashee Rice served a suspension, be the No. 1 option for quarterback Patrick Mahomes last season.

On the third play of the Chiefs’ season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Travis Kelce accidentally ran into Worthy. The collision dislocated Worthy’s shoulder, fully tore his labrum, and derailed his second year in the NFL.

Worthy, the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick in 2024, also dealt with ankle injuries, but he managed to play 14 games through it all. His 42 catches for 532 yards and one touchdown make sense in that context.

Worthy shared that he underwent “successful surgery” on his shoulder in January. At the Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp on Thursday, he went into further detail about how his injury-riddled year is fueling him this offseason.

“It might have been the best thing for me,” Worthy said of his shoulder surgery forcing him to slow down. “Learning how to be a pro and learning how to approach, obviously, the mental aspect and just getting your body prepared for certain things. I feel like I kind of hit that hard this offseason.”

Worthy said he was very limited by his torn labrum last season and asserted that his 2025 production was not indicative of his capabilities.

“Obviously, I know what kind of player I could be and what things I could do on the field and what I can bring to the team, so I mean, that’s gonna show for itself,” Worthy said of his goals for next season.

The Chiefs as a whole are motivated to prove last season was an anomaly. After reaching three straight Super Bowls and winning two of them, they finished 6-11 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season.

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 9:42 PM.