clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Why Chiefs played Albert Wilson instead of Donnie Avery

The Chiefs head coach explains why he went with the rookie WR Albert Wilson over the veteran WR Donnie Avery.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Donnie Avery returned to the field last week after a two month absence due to sports hernia surgery and didn't look quite right. He caught one pass against the Denver Broncos that he then fumbled. He followed that up by playing just one snap in the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals game on Sunday. Instead of Avery it was undrafted receiver Albert Wilson lining up as the No. 2 receiver.

So what happened with Avery? Chiefs coach Andy Reid says it's because they realized Avery isn't quite fully back from his injury yet.

"I just thought Donnie needed to step back," Reid said. "He wasn't quite up to full speed the week before. It wasn't anything of effort or any of that. With Donnie, he is just coming off that injury and I thought he needed a little more time."

Wilson played 48 snaps, which was a breakout game for him.

"And then Albert has been playing well; he did a nice job," Reid said. "He'd like to probably have that last one (a drop) back but other than that I thought he had a pretty good game."

Wilson's four catches for 53 yards was the most production the Chiefs have seen out of the No. 2 receiver spot in quite some time. Because of Wilson's strong performance the Chiefs should absolutely give him another shot this weekend against the Oakland Raiders. If Wilson can turn into something this season and down the road it would save the Chiefs some trouble of finding another receiver (of which they need many).

Arrowhead Pride Premiere

Sign up now for a 7-day free trial of Arrowhead Pride Premier, with exclusive updates from Pete Sweeney on the ground at Arrowhead, instant reactions after each game, and in-depth Chiefs analysis from film expert Jon Ledyard.