TE Matt Bushman shines in preseason victory — and leaves game with injury

One of the highlights of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 17-10 home victory over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night was the performance of reserve tight end Matt Bushman.

Catching all three of his targets from third-string quarterback Shane Buechele, Bushman led Kansas City receivers with 73 yards and two touchdowns.

The first came when Buechele found the tight end wide open down the left sideline midway through the second quarter. Bushman hauled in the pass and rumbled to a 54-yard touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 10-7 lead.

Then on Kansas City’s opening drive of the second half, wide receiver Corey Coleman turned in a 45-yard kickoff return to start the team on its own 46-yard line. After Ronald Jones and Isiah Pacheco gained 16 yards on back-to-back runs, wideout Daurice Fountain gained 29 yards to the Green Bay two-yard line. Buechele then found Bushman sneaking around the right side, and he ran into the end zone for another touchdown.

With tight end Blake Bell now out following his hip surgery, it appeared that the former Las Vegas Raiders tight end had put together a strong last-minute case to make the 53-man roster on Tuesday — at least until Bell is back from his injury.

But then, after gaining 17 yards on a quick pass from Buechele in the third quarter, Bushman came down hard on his right shoulder. It was clearly bothering him as he got to his feet. He went to the locker room — and after the game, head coach Andy Reid had the bad news: the second-year player out of BYU had sustained a broken clavicle.

A week ago, the discussion was about whether the Chiefs would keep three or four tight ends on the initial 53-man roster — and if they kept only three, who would be the odd man out? But now, they only have Travis Kelce, Noah Gray and Jody Fortson as locks — followed by journeyman Jordan Franks — and many questions about how to proceed with Bell and Bushman.