Xavier Worthy’s pre-game ritual involves honoring a special family member
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Worthy visits goal posts before every Chiefs game to honor his late great-grandmother.
- He began the ritual after her death before the 2024 draft and repeats it weekly.
- Worthy uses the brief goal-post conversations to preserve family memory and focus.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has a strict routine he follows before each Chiefs game, and it’s quite a detailed process.
Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy also has a pre-game ritual, but it’s much less involved. Shortly before every game, Worthy makes his way to the goal posts for a special conversation.
Worthy’s pre-game ritual isn’t with a teammate. He talks to his late great-grandmother, Tressie.
“My great-grandma passed right before I got drafted,” Worthy told me. “So I’ve been doing it since I got to the league. I go to the goalpost every time.”
The Chiefs selected Worthy, who has 24 receptions for 256 yards and a touchdown in seven games this season, with the 28th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Worthy said his great-grandmother moved to Kansas City as a child and lived here for 13 years before moving to California. She was the grandmother of Worthy’s mom, Nicky Jones.
Worthy, who was the Chiefs’ first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, doesn’t necessarily have a special message for his great-grandmother when he talks to her before each game. It’s more about keeping her memory alive.
“Nothing crazy, I just kind of talk to her,” Worthy said.
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 10:31 AM.
