KC Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster’s hamstring suddenly an issue before MNF vs. Raiders

The Chiefs are suddenly keeping a close eye on one of their starting wide receivers ahead of Monday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced Saturday that JuJu Smith-Schuster’s hamstring tightened up, which caused Smith-Schuster to be limited in practice.

While the Chiefs officially designated Smith-Schuster as questionable, Reid sounded optimistic that the wideout would be available for the game.

“I think he’ll be fine,” Reid said.

The wide receiver’s hamstring injury is new. The Chiefs previously listed Smith-Schuster on the injury report with a quad injury the past two days, but he was able to practice fully.

If Smith-Schuster can’t play Monday night, the Chiefs still have fellow receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, Justin Watson and rookie Skyy Moore on their active 53-player roster. They also have Daurice Fountain, Marcus Kemp, Chris Conley and Cornell Powell available on their practice squad.

Smith-Schuster’s 19 catches for 224 yards rank second on the team behind tight end Travis Kelce, who has 26 for 322, with three touchdowns.

Meanwhile, kicker Harrison Butker will miss a fourth straight game after the Chiefs designated him as out.

Butker originally suffered the injury in Week 1 and has practiced just once in the past month, a limited practice last week. The continued missed time is a concern, but Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said Friday that Butker is still dealing with pain and swelling.

“It was evidently a little bit worse than what you think,” Toub said. “Everybody heals differently, so it’s just going to take time to get him back.”

With Butker out, the Chiefs will turn to Matthew Wright, who made two field goals and converted five extra points in Week 4’s 41-31 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Wright replaced Matt Ammendola, whose practice squad stint was terminated after he missed a field goal and extra point in the Chiefs’ 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3.

In other injury-related news, the Chiefs designated right guard Trey Smith (pectoral) and defensive end Mike Danna (calf) as questionable. Smith suffered his injury in Week 4, while Danna has missed the past two games with the calf injury.

If Smith can’t play Monday night, the Chiefs are likely to go with Nick Allegretti.