Skyy Moore

WR Notes: Kirk, Thielen, Rams, Chiefs, Pats

October 27th, 2024 at 11:07am CST by Sam Robinson

Diontae Johnson is viewed as the most likely receiver domino to fall between now and the November 5 trade deadline, but Christian Kirk continues to be a name to monitor. The Jaguars wideout was mentioned as a player drawing interest earlier this month, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes that has continued, naming the seventh-year veteran alongside Johnson in terms of the receivers who have generated the most trade buzz following the Davante Adams, Amari Cooper and DeAndre Hopkins swaps.

Kirk brings an element Johnson does not, as he is signed through 2025. Playing on the four-year, $72MM pact that received scrutiny at the time, the Jags slot receiver now merely sits 25th in receiver AAV. Kirk’s 2022 free agency deal helped ignite the WR market that year, and another boom took place this offseason to render the Jacksonville deal an upper-middle-class pact. Kirk is 27 and attached to a $14.5MM base salary, which will be an issue for teams, as more than $7.5MM will remain for an acquiring team post-Week 8.

Although Kirk’s per-year number has dropped considerably on an exploding market, the Jags do have both Evan Engram and Gabe Davis signed to eight-figure AAVs. They also used a first-round pick on Brian Thomas Jr. this year. Kirk served as Trevor Lawrence‘s most trusted target in 2022 and ’23; as Thomas has shown considerable promise, Kirk has caught 25 passes for 320 yards and a touchdown this season.

Here is the latest from the WR ranks:

Add Adam Thielen to the list of Panthers potential trade chips at receiver. While Johnson is likely to go and Jonathan Mingo is viewed as a player who may not be a long-term fit, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport mentions Thielen as a candidate to be on the move as well. This would add up, as Thielen is 34 and tied to a through-2025 contract that does not have any guarantees remaining for next season. Thielen topped 1,000 yards for a woeful Panthers team last season, residing as Bryce Young‘s clear-cut top target. The ex-Viking’s follow-up effort, however, included an IR stay for a hamstring injury. Carolina has not yet activated the 12th-year veteran from IR. Injuries and age will limit Carolina’s return, but the three-time 1,000-yard pass catcher would only be owed barely $2MM if acquired before the deadline.
Tutu Atwell‘s role will diminish with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back. The diminutive Rams receiver indeed saw his snap share on offense plummet from 78% in Week 7 to 12% Thursday night. Atwell has shown flashes for the Rams, but he has not delivered extended stretches of reliability. Los Angeles did not have the former second-round pick among its top three receivers during last season’s stretch run, and ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop notes he is unlikely to be extended before his contract expires in March. This could make Atwell a trade candidate, though given the Rams’ back-to-back wins and their WR health issues, it would make more sense for the team to hang onto the contract-year player.
It could be a while before Skyy Moore returns to the Chiefs. Andy Reid said (via The Athletic’s Nate Taylor) this week the former second-round pick will need to have his core muscle injury “fixed”; the defending Super Bowl champions placed Moore on IR this week. Viewed as a starter to open last season, Moore could not hold up in that role and did not factor into Kansas City’s six-game win streak to close the year. While playing more due to the injuries to Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice early this season, Moore does not have a catch in 2024.
The Patriots made Javon Baker a healthy scratch last week, marking the third straight game that has happened for the rookie. Baker appeared to miss or show up late for a team function in London, as ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss mentions an itinerary “hiccup” took place to help lead the fourth-round pick to the sideline once again. Baker could have a path up New England’s depth chart if Kendrick Bourne and/or K.J. Osborn are moved, but he has played in just two games as a rookie. Baker is active for Week 8.

Chiefs Place WR Skyy Moore On IR

October 24th, 2024 at 10:54am CST by Adam La Rose

Just as one wideout is set to join the Chiefs, another is facing a notable absence. Skyy Moore has been placed on injured reserve, per a team announcement.

Moore is dealing with a core muscle injury, and today’s move guarantees at least a four-game absence. Of course, that will add further to the injury issues which Kansas City has dealt with in 2024, with Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice done for the year. News of Moore’s upcoming absence comes at the same time the DeAndre Hopkins acquisition has become official.

Moore has appeared in all six of the Chiefs’ games so far this year, but he has been an afterthought on offense. The former second-rounder has been held without a catch in 2024, receiving only three targets. As a result, his absence will not represent as much of a blow to the team’s passing attack as that of Rice or Brown. Still, today’s news means Kansas City will be even thinner at the WR spot for a stretch.

A knee injury limited Moore to 14 games last season, and even though he was activated in time for the Super Bowl he did not take part in that contest. The 24-year-old did not live up to expectations in 2023, one in which he posted a 21-244-1 statline. That production roughly matched the output from his rookie campaign, even though last year Moore logged a much larger workload. Despite the banged-up nature of Kansas City’s receiver room in 2024, he has only handled a 20% offensive snap share.

Hopkins will no doubt take on a full-time starting role upon arrival with the defending champions. He will be joined by JuJu Smith-Schuster (who will miss Week 8 due to a hamstring injury) in time as he acclimates to his latest team. Kansas City also has first-round rookie Xavier Worthy, along with veterans Mecole Hardman and Justin Watson at the WR spot. Moore will look to re-join that group in time for the end of the campaign.

Kansas City has seven IR activations remaining for the year, one of which will be needed to bring starting running back Isiah Pacheco back into the fold. Moore remains attached to his rookie contract through 2025.

Chiefs Activate WR Skyy Moore, Place DE Charles Omenihu On IR

February 7th, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Ely Allen

As the Chiefs continue to prepare for their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance (their fourth in five years) and attempt to become the first team to win consecutive Super Bowls since the Patriots did it in the ’03 and ’04 seasons, the team continues to tinker with its roster. Today’s adjustment saw Kansas City activate wide receiver Skyy Moore off of injured reserve and place defensive end Charles Omenihu on IR in his place.

After a fairly pedestrian rookie season last year, Moore was expected to take on a bigger role in his sophomore campaign. Unfortunately, Moore was only barely outpacing his rookie numbers when he suffered a knee injury in a Week 15 victory in New England that would land him on IR and force him to miss the remainder of the regular season.

After the team’s Wild Card win over the Dolphins, Kansas City opened the young wide out’s 21-day practice window, allowing him to return in time for the Super Bowl if possible. Today was the last possible day that the Chiefs were able to activate him off of IR. Moore was a full participant in practice today, so he should be able to step in as a second-string receiver should things continue to trend in the right direction.

Omenihu, third on the team in sacks this season (7.0), suffered a torn ACL in the Chiefs’ AFC Championship win over the Ravens. With his season officially over, it was only a matter of time before he found himself on IR. As it turns out, Kansas City was waiting until it could add a new name to the active roster in his place. The injury means Omenihu will miss a grudge match against his former team on the biggest stage possible.

As for the rest of the Chiefs’ injury report, all but two players were full participants at today’s practice, meaning running back Isiah Pacheco and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who both were limited participants for most of the week before the AFC title game, are in better shape heading into the season finale. Today’s sole limited participant was running back Jerick McKinnon, who has served as the team’s second receiving back throughout the season.

The only non-participant at today’s practice was first-team All-Pro guard Joe Thuney. Thuney missed the team’s win in Baltimore with a pectoral injury and isn’t expected to make a comeback this weekend. Head coach Andy Reid told reporters that he “would probably bet towards (Nick) Allegretti playing” in the Super Bowl, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Allegretti made his second start of the season a week and a half ago as an injury replacement for Thuney and is expected to make his third on Sunday.

Chiefs Open Skyy Moore’s Practice Window

January 17th, 2024 at 12:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

A sore subject this season, the Chiefs’ wide receiver corps has also been shorthanded in recent weeks. Neither Kadarius Toney nor Skyy Moore have been available for the AFC West champions. One or both could be in the divisional round.

The Chiefs designated Moore for return Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. While the Moore news is somewhat important, it is perhaps more notable Jerick McKinnon — also eligible to come off IR this week — has not yet been designated for return.

Moore suffered a knee injury in December; that halted a disappointing season for the 2022 second-round pick. The Western Michigan product entered the year expected to be a near-full-time player for Kansas City, but his play has not warranted such a role. Moore has just 21 receptions for 244 yards and one touchdown this year, joining Toney as Chiefs receiver disappointments this season.

Still, Kansas City having one of its options back would stand to help its cause against Buffalo, which won the teams’ regular-season meeting for a third straight year. The Chiefs, of course, have had the upper hand on the Bills in the playoffs; they won the 2020 AFC championship game and downed their recent rivals in a 2021 divisional-round shootout. But this Chiefs’ offense is not on the level of those potent units, with the pass catcher situation front and center as to why.

The Chiefs entered negotiations with Tyreek Hill about a new deal in 2022, seeing the Raiders’ Davante Adams extension change the equation. A month after trading Hill to the Dolphins, the Chiefs chose Moore 54th overall. The MAC standout did not play much on offense last year, though he did notch a crucial punt return to help the Chiefs kick a game-winning field goal to beat the Bengals in the AFC championship game. With JuJu Smith-Schuster gone, the Chiefs had hoped to lean more on Moore. Neither he nor Toney have proven worthy of confidence, amplifying the importance of the swiftly developing Rashee Rice, a second-rounder this year.

Rice (930 receiving yards) led Chiefs wideouts in yards during the regular season by a cool 478, and the SMU product posted 130 to lift Kansas City past Miami in a frigid wild-card tilt. The Chiefs have used Justin Watson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who has also underwhelmed this season, as Rice complementary pieces with Moore and Toney sidelined. The injury-prone Toney is battling hip and ankle injuries, missing the past four games. He is not on IR.

Travis Kelce Dealing With Knee Injury; Kadarius Toney On Track For Week 1

September 6th, 2023 at 7:59am CST by Sam Robinson

SEPTEMBER 6: While Kelce is dealing with significant swelling, Rapoport indicates he suffered a bone bruise. Considering the range of outcomes possible in the wake of this knee injury, the Chiefs appear to have dodged a bullet here.

SEPTEMBER 5, 3:48pm: Kelce remains uncertain to play in Week 1, per Rapoport and NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, but this is not believed to be a serious knee injury. The Chiefs plan to wait for the swelling in the injured knee to subside before making a decision. Kelce’s ACL is intact, ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds. While it would not surprise to see the Chiefs exercise caution here given Kelce’s importance to the offense, it does not look like a long-term absence would be in the cards. Indeed, SI.com’s Albert Breer adds it is unlikely Kelce plays Thursday.

1:13pm: After missing nearly his entire rookie season due to a knee injury, Travis Kelce has become one of the NFL’s most durable players. But his status for Week 1 is suddenly in question.

Kelce suffered a hyperextended knee, per Andy Reid, and is not a lock to play in the Chiefs’ season opener. The injury occurred at practice Tuesday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The perennial All-Pro tight end has not missed a game due to injury since his 2013 rookie season.

On a better note for the defending Super Bowl champions, Kadarius Toney is practicing. Reid expects the injury-prone receiver to play against the Lions, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets. Toney, who has battled a number of maladies since entering the league in 2021, missed several weeks after suffering a torn meniscus minutes into training camp. The Chiefs listed Toney and Kelce as limited practice participants.

Moving into Hall of Fame lock territory since pairing with Patrick Mahomes, Kelce did not truly begin his career until his age-25 season due to undergoing microfracture surgery during his rookie year. Unlike Jadeveon Clowney, who underwent the same procedure a year later, Kelce has not battled knee trouble in the seasons since. He has only missed three regular-season games — two due to Reid sitting starters in season finales, one due to COVID-19 — since returning in time for the 2014 opener.

Going into his age-34 season, Kelce has become one of the NFL’s all-time greats at tight end. He is riding a seven-year streak of 1,000-yard seasons; no other tight end has tallied more than four 1,000-yard years in total. The Chiefs relied on Kelce last season, trading Tyreek Hill and using a cast of lesser wide receivers, and got by in large part due to the receiving tight end’s consistency. Kelce set a new career high with 110 receptions, and his 1,338 yards approached his tight end-record 1,416 from 2020. It would obviously be quite the adjustment for the Chiefs to play without Kelce, considering their receiver makeup.

Toney represents a key part of that receiving group, but the Chiefs may look to limit the shifty wideout. Lower-body injuries have followed Toney from New York to Kansas City. Ankle, quad, oblique and knee trouble has plagued Toney, with an onslaught of hamstring issues – which at one point saw the talented youngster sidelined because of injuries to both legs – impeding his 2022 efforts. While Toney still recovered in time to make key contributions in Super Bowl LVII, his track record has reached the point he might not be able to handle a full receiver workload.

The Chiefs kept seven wide receivers on their active roster, adding to the uncertainty at the position following the free agency exits of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is the only proven option left at receiver for the Chiefs, though GM Brett Veach said 2022 second-rounder Skyy Moore is set for an every-down role after showing improvement this offseason. Kansas City also rosters second-round rookie Rashee Rice, free agent slot pickup Richie James, veteran backup Justin Watson and second-year UDFA Justyn Ross.

Additionally, the daily Chris Jones update does not bring good news for the Chiefs. Still no progress in negotiations, per Reid. Both Kelce and Jones played all 20 Chiefs contests last season. While Jones has been trending toward missing this game for a bit now, the eighth-year defensive tackle is close to missing a $1.1MM game check.

Aaron Donald skipped Week 1 while holding out in 2017, but he was attached to a rookie contract and the Rams ended up waiving his fines and paying him for the game week missed. The current CBA prevents the Chiefs from waiving the fines Jones incurred for missing training camp; that number has surpassed $2MM. Jones continues to target a deal closer to Donald’s $31.7MM AAV than the D-tackle’s second salary tier. Rumblings about a $28MM-per-year middle ground have surfaced, but Jones remains unsigned.

Chiefs Sign WR Skyy Moore, Complete Draft Class

June 10th, 2022 at 8:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

More teams continue to finalize their 2022 draft class’ rookie contracts. The Chiefs are the latest to do so; the team reached an agreement with Skyy Moore, as the receiver confirmed on Instagram.

Moore enjoyed a productive three-year career at Western Michigan. He totaled 51 catches and 802 yards in his first season there, though he only played in five games during the pandemic-shortened season the following year. While he averaged over 15 yards per catch in each of his first two seasons, he only found the endzone six times across that span.

The 5-foot-10, 195-pounder took another step forward last year. Suiting up for 12 contests, he totaled 95 receptions, which placed him second in the Mid-American Conference and ninth in the country. He also ranked second in the MAC with 1,292 yards, and more than doubled his touchdown total with 10 — leading the conference in that category.

That placed him in the conversation to be drafted amongst the second tier of wideouts in this year’s class. Not surprisingly, the Chiefs selected him in the second round, as the team continued to rebuild its receiving corps. After the departures of Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson and Byron Pringle, a number of new faces have been brought in. The most notable additions include JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and perhaps the most intriguing UDFA of the 2022 class, Justyn Ross.

Moore’s size and run-after-catch skillset could lead to usage similar to the way Hill was deployed. His speed should be well-utilized in Andy Reid‘s offense, and give the Chiefs a long-term option in the passing game, compared to the short-term deals signed in free agency to round out the position’s depth chart.

With Moore under contract, here is the full breakdown of Kansas City’s draft class:

Round 1: No. 21 (from Patriots) Trent McDuffie, CB (Washington) (signed)
Round 1: No. 30 George Karlaftis, DE (Purdue) (signed)
Round 2: No. 54 (from Patriots) Skyy Moore, WR (Western Michigan) (signed)
Round 2: No. 62 Bryan Cook, S (Cincinnati) (signed)
Round 3: No. 103 Leo Chenal, LB (Wisconsin) (signed)
Round 4: No. 135 Joshua Williams, CB (Fayetteville State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 145 (from Seahawks) Darian Kinnard, OG (Kentucky) (signed)
Round 7: No. 243 (from Raiders through Patriots) Jaylen Watson, CB (Washington State) (signed)
Round 7: No. 251 Isaih Pacheco, RB (Rutgers) (signed)
Round 7: No. 259 Nazeeh Johnson, S (Marshall) (signed)