Free Agent Wide Receivers Return to Kansas City Chiefs Practice

The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver room is rounding back into form before the start of the regular season. Wide receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling returned to practice today, ESPN NFL Nation's Adam Teicher reports:

JuJu was back to practice today for Chiefs. So we're MVS, Dunlap, McDuffie, Fenton. I did not see Frank Clark or Leo Chenal. pic.twitter.com/UkwqNreEHs
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) August 29, 2022

Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling are both free agent additions this year and are expected to help offset the lost production of former All-Pro Tyreek Hill, who was traded to the Miami Dolphins earlier this offseason. Valdes-Scantling had been in concussion protocol, and Smith-Schuster had been nursing a knee injury.

Valdes-Scantling comes to the Chiefs after spending the first four years of his career with the Green Bay Packers. A speedy deep threat, he sports an average yards-per-reception of 17.5 for his career and blazed a 4.37 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Draft Combine. Smith-Schuster, on the other hand, made his name with the Pittsburgh Steelers as more of an intermediate threat, using his size and craftiness to provide a reliable underneath target.

The Chiefs have finished the season as a top 5 scoring offense in three of the previous four years, but questions remain around this year's group. Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling have enormous shoes to fill replacing Hill, as the receiver was a Pro Bowler in all of his six seasons with the Chiefs; Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling combined for 559 receiving yards last year, less than half of Hill's 1239. Combine that with superstar tight end Travis Kelce turning 33 this season, and the Chiefs suddenly have a lot of question marks around their franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes.