Walker Ruled Out For Falcons Game With Groin Injury

The Kansas City Chiefs play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday with a chance to get a win and pull into a tie with the Denver Broncos in the AFC West, but the degree of difficulty just went up with the news that running back Kenneth Walker III will be out with a groin injury, per a report from ESPN. 

The news isn’t entirely unexpected given that coach Andy Reid reported on Friday that the running back was dealing with groin tightness, with the injury occurring during practice on Thursday. 

The Chiefs now “want to give him a week,” according to a report from Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport of ESPN that had the injury being minor, but it also made it a tough turnaround for Walker to play against Atlanta on Sunday. 

The injury cancels a much-anticipated duel between Walker and running back Bijan Robinson of Atlanta, who currently leads the NFL in rushing with 880 yards, followed by Walker with 872. 

The Chiefs will now turn to rookie running back Emmett Johson to carry the load against Atlanta, although his elevation could indicate a shift to the short passing game in Kansas City’s game plan. That shift seems even more likely given that Johnson has a per-catch average of 16.9 yards on 14 receptions, including a 73-yard touchdown against the Denver Broncos in Week 8. 

Kansas City also traded for receiver Josh Downs from the Indianapolis Colts this week, and Downs could have a larger role even though he’s still learning the playbook. Receiver Xavier Worthy will also be active after sustaining a hamstring injury late in the Chiefs’ 35-12 win over the New York Jets last Sunday, and he’ll almost certainly be targeted more. 

Walker’s injury does leave the Chiefs thin at running back, so they’ll almost certainly add a veteran running back before the game. Their current depth chart shows Jaydn Ott of Oklahoma as next up behind Johnson, and the Chiefs were comfortable enough with his development to give Ott some snaps against the Jets, and he rushed for 19 yards on three carries that included a 13-yarder. 

The Chiefs currently have a record of 6-2, but their season has been a roller coaster when it comes to injuries. First it was Mahomes coming back after a serious knee injury, and he hurt his elbow against the Jets but seems to be fine. Left tackle Josh Simmons also went on IR a couple of weeks ago, but rookie Kahlil Benson has stepped up and done a solid job so far.