Kansas City Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel admitted that Jon Baldwin hasn’t produced as much as the team had hoped when the second-year receiver was excelling in the offseason.
Baldwin, the No. 26 overall pick in 2011, took advantage of Dwayne Bowe’s holdout in the offseason and in training camp. However, in the regular season, the focus has been on Bowe. He has 45 catches for 571 yards. Baldwin has 15 catches for 213 yards.
“I think Jon, he has not produced as much as we want him to produce or what I anticipated he would produce, particularly after the OTAs because he did a very nice job there,” Crennel told reporters Monday. "But we had a piece missing during the OTAs that came back, and I think that impacted a lot of the passing game. The thing that we have to do is, we have to get Jon more involved than we’ve had him involved and give him an opportunity to be a playmaker for us. That’s one of the things we’re going to try to work on.”
Baldwin is an important piece for Kansas City moving forward and getting him involved is vital. Bowe is likely going to leave as a free agent after the season.
In other AFC West news:
Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen said starting running back Darren McFadden and his backup Mike Goodson both have high ankle sprains. McFadden has not been ruled out for Sunday’s game at Baltimore, but high ankle sprains often take at least a few weeks to heal. The Raiders will likely rely heavily on fullback Marcel Reece at tailback and they pursue a running back. The most notable name available is Ryan Grant.
Oakland tackle Khalif Barnes is expected to practice this week after missing six games. Rookie Tony Bergstrom could get some looks at right tackle. Barnes’ replacement, Willie Smith, has struggled.
Oakland defensive tackle Desmond Bryant has been released from a Bay Area hospital and he is doing well at home. He experienced a fast heart beat and was taken to the hospital during Oakland’s loss to Tampa Bay. He has yet to be cleared to practice.