The Kansas City Chiefs will be missing one of their key offensive weapons Sunday when they travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons. Kenneth Walker III, the NFL’s second-leading rusher, was ruled out Saturday with a groin injury, marking the first game he will miss since joining Kansas City.
Rookie running back Emmett Johnson is expected to take over Walker’s workload against Atlanta.
The injury blunts what had been shaping up as a showcase matchup between the league’s top two rushers. Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson leads the NFL with 880 rushing yards, just eight yards ahead of Walker’s 872. Walker has also caught 22 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns this season, while Robinson has added 250 receiving yards of his own.
Walker had been listed as questionable on the injury report after tweaking his groin during Thursday’s practice. Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the team planned to monitor his status over the following days before making a final call.
Johnson has shown he can produce when given opportunities. The fifth-round pick out of Nebraska has carried the ball 26 times for 111 yards and a touchdown, while adding 14 catches for 237 yards and another score through the air.
“He’s going to play anyway, whether Ken’s there or not,” Reid said Friday. “Everybody has confidence in him.”
Depth behind Johnson is thinner than the Chiefs would like, though. Brashard Smith landed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury on Oct. 24, and fellow back Ott is questionable for Sunday’s game with a sore hamstring of his own. Ott carried the ball three times for 19 yards in mop-up duty during last week’s blowout win over the New York Jets.
There was better news elsewhere on the injury front. Two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes practiced fully all week and carries no injury designation heading into Sunday’s game. Mahomes took a hard hit to his right arm in last week’s 35-12 win over the Jets, but an MRI afterward showed no major damage to his right elbow, according to a report from NFL Network.
The Chiefs flew to Atlanta on Saturday and did not expect changes to their travel plans despite a Federal Aviation Administration ground stoppage the day before. Defensive tackle Chris Jones did not travel with the team for personal reasons but is expected to join his teammates in Atlanta; he carries no game designation for Sunday.
