Chiefs Make Room for DeAndre Hopkins by Placing Struggling WR on IR

Shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs officially announced that they had acquired wideout DeAndre Hopkins via trade, the team also announced that it placed third-year WR Skyy Moore on injured reserve due to a core muscle injury.

Moore, 22, is in his third season with the Chiefs and has done very little to merit having a spot on the active roster. Through six games he had three targets and two drops while playing just 20% of the team’s offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference.

Luckily, Moore being placed on IR frees up a roster spot for Hopkins, so Kansas City won’t need to make any other corresponding moves.

Patrick Mahomes Talks About Adding Receivers Midseason

Hopkins wasn’t officially added to Kansas City’s roster until Thursday. Because of that, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and players did not speak about Hopkins during their media availability on Wednesday. But that doesn’t mean media members didn’t try to get as much out of the Chiefs as they could regarding the blockbuster move.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked about his comfortability level in throwing contested catches, which is something he will need to do more often with Hopkins in the fold.

“I think in my time, we’ve had receivers that can make some of those contested catches and once you build that relationship and build that trust, you put them up there and let guys go out there and make plays,” Mahomes explained on October 23. “I think that’s what’s special about Coach Reid’s offense is that it adapts to whoever’s in there. He has different ways [that] he can utilize your strengths and then it’s my job to go out there and give them chances to go out there and make plays.”

Mahomes was also asked to share his biggest takeaway from adding receivers to the team midseason in years past.

“I think the biggest thing for me is whenever a new guy gets into the building is just getting on that same page as quickly as possible,” Mahomes said. “Even with guys like Kareem [Hunt] in the running back position, just being able to talk with him throughout the protection calls, talk with him kind of throughout the plays, making sure he knows what his job is to do and letting him go out and execute it. I’ve dealt with that throughout my entire career – bringing new guys in, that’s part of the NFL and like I said, I think the coaches do a great job of making sure guys are prepared so they can go out there and have success.”

DeAndre Hopkins Could Play Against Raiders

Hopkins was added to Kansas City’s roster just days before the Chiefs’ Week 8 game against the division-rival Las Vegas Raiders. But according to James Palmer of Underdog Fantasy, the goal is to have Hopkins play in the Chiefs’ Week 8 outing despite the short turnaround.

“I’m told the #chiefs will get DeAndre Hopkins going as soon as he lands in KC today,” Palmer wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on October 23. “The goal is to have him play Sunday vs the #raiders per source. They’ll know by the end of the week exactly what he can do. It’s going to be hard to do I’m told, but that’s what they’re planning.”

The Chiefs-Raiders game will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, October 27 at 3:25 p.m. Central Time and will be available to watch on CBS.