NFL Player News

Worthy brought down six of seven targets for 85 yards and a touchdown while taking two carries for 16 yards in Sunday's 32-29 win over Buffalo in the AFC Championship Game.

Worthy wound up leading the Chiefs in every receiving category while also finishing as the only position player for his team to reach the century mark in total yards from scrimmage. The electric rookie made a remarkable catch near the end of the first half in which he brought down an off-kilter pass from Patrick Mahomes while being draped by two Buffalo defenders. Worthy had just caught the first postseason touchdown of his career on the Chiefs' prior offensive drive, capping off an impressive overall performance en route to Super Bowl LIX. Expect Worthy to be involved as both a runner and pass catcher as Kansas City faces Philadelphia at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9.

Hollins caught three of four targets for 73 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 32-29 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

Hollins was Buffalo's leading receiver in the season-ending loss. He caught a 34-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the first half and set up Curtis Samuel's game-tying touchdown catch in the fourth quarter with a 32-yard reception down to the 4-yard line. Hollins surprisingly led the Bills with five touchdown catches in the regular season while playing on a one-year, $2.6 million contract, so Buffalo could have some interest in bringing the 31-year-old wide receiver back in free agency.

Cooper caught all four of his targets for 33 yards in Sunday's 32-29 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

Cooper wasn't the difference-maker the Bills had hoped for after they gave up a third-round draft pick to acquire him from the Browns. The 30-year-old wide receiver proceeded to catch 20 of 32 targets for 297 yards and two touchdowns in eight regular-season games for Buffalo and added only six catches for 41 yards on eight targets across three playoff outings. Cooper's best days appear to be behind him, but with seven 1,000-yard receiving seasons under his belt, the unrestricted free agent is likely to draw some interest on the open market.

Shakir caught six of seven targets for 46 yards in Sunday's 32-29 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

Shakir had six catches in each of Buffalo's three playoff games after leading the team in targets (100), catches (76) and receiving yards (821) during the regular season. The sure-handed receiver can reliably move the chains and do damage after the catch, but Shakir hasn't been much of a red-zone threat so far, with just seven touchdowns through 46 regular-season NFL games. The 2022 fifth-round draft pick will be back in Buffalo for the final year of his rookie deal in 2025.

Brown recorded three receptions on five targets for 42 yards in Sunday's 55-23 loss to the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. He also lost a fumble.

Brown had emerged as a key contributor in the Washington offense during the team's unlikely postseason run. He took a slight step back in Sunday's loss, as he had a mixed performance that included both positives and negatives. Brown accounted for the team's second-longest play from scrimmage with a 24-yard catch, but he also lost a fumble late in the first quarter to set up a Philadelphia touchdown. The Commanders will likely look to add to their pass-catching corps this offseason, though Brown's unexpected emergence is still intriguing heading into the 2025 campaign.

McLaurin recorded three receptions on seven targets for 51 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 55-23 NFC Championship Game loss to the Eagles.

McLaurin was predictably the focus of the strong Philadelphia secondary and was blanketed by Quinyon Mitchell for much of the game. That led to a subpar performance, though he did manage an impressive 36-yard touchdown catch and run midway through the second quarter to account for the majority of his production. Though his campaign ended on a sour note, McLaurin managed a career-best 13 touchdowns while also tallying his highest catch total (82) since 2020 across 17 regular-season games.

Smith caught all four of his targets for 45 yards in Sunday's 55-23 win over the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game.

Smith drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone late in the first half to set up a one-yard Jalen Hurts rushing touchdown on the next play. Besides that, Smith didn't make much of an impact as the Eagles scored seven rushing touchdowns and Hurts directed 16 of his 28 passes to either A.J. Brown or Dallas Goedert. Smith has just 66 receiving yards across his last two games heading into Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Feb. 9 after recording at least 55 receiving yards in five of six career playoff games prior to this two-game personal downturn.

Brown caught six of eight targets for 96 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 55-23 win over the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game.

After being held to three catches for 24 yards over the first two games of this playoff run, Brown bounced back with four catches for 61 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone. That production included a 31-yard catch on fourth down in the second quarter on a drive that culminated in the third of Philadelphia's seven rushing touchdowns, followed by a four-yard Brown touchdown catch in the final minute of the first half. Brown paced the Eagles in receiving yards to help clinch their second Super Bowl berth in three years. Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Feb. 9 will either be a rematch against the Chiefs or a battle against the Bills.

Ross (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's AFC Championship Game versus the Bills.

Ross was elevated from the practice squad Saturday, marking his first time on the active roster since Week 10 versus the Broncos. It's unlikely that he ever would have seen the field versus Buffalo, as Kansas City already had six healthy wideouts heading into Sunday's action. Instead, the team likely elevated Ross so that he could earn a $77,000 game check compared to the $12,500 weekly pay that he would have gotten from being on the practice squad, according to Charles Goldman of AtoZSports.com. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have his usual complement of wide receivers with Xavier Worthy, DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown, Justin Watson, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Nikko Remigio.

Ross was elevated from the practice squad Saturday ahead of Sunday's AFC Championship Game versus Buffalo, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

This will be Ross' first elevation since Week 10 when he failed to haul in his lone target versus Denver. The Chiefs are not dealing with any new injuries at wideout, leaving Ross as the seventh WR on the active roster heading into Sunday's game. Expect Xavier Worthy, DeAndre Hopkins and Hollywood Brown to fill out the starting group while Justin Watson and JuJu Smith-Schuster work as primary reserves.