Emmanuel Smith

Chiefs Reach 53-Man Limit

The two-time defending AFC champions pared their roster to 53 players Tuesday. Following some early cuts Monday, here are the rest of the moves the Chiefs made to get there:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/NFI list:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Long will miss the Chiefs’ first six games. The recently unretired offensive lineman suffered a knee injury in June. While Long was part of the Chiefs’ extensive offseason offensive line puzzle, the team made several moves to create O-line depth after its Super Bowl LV blocking debacle. Kansas City traded for left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., signed guard Joe Thuney and center Austin Blythe, and drafted center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith. Long and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who opted out last year and came up in trade calls this week, are not expected to start but would stand to provide high-end depth on Kansas City’s retooled line.

 

The Chiefs took Powell in the fifth round. The Clemson alum would make sense as a practice squad candidate, but the Chiefs will run the risk of anther team claiming the rookie wideout and preventing such a scenario. Kansas City lost Sammy Watkins but returns the likes of Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson as supporting-cast receivers.

Chiefs Re-Sign Deandre Baker

The Chiefs have re-signed Deandre Baker for the 2021 season, per a club announcement. The cornerback joined the Chiefs on a practice squad deal in November, shortly after the Broward County State Attorney’s Office dropped armed robbery charges against him

Baker struggled as a first-round rookie with the Giants, allowing a 116.2 passer rating. Then, heading into his second year, Baker was arrested on multiple felony charges. Cops alleged that Baker orchestrated a robbery at gunpoint with Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar as his accomplice. Then, after a number of twists and turns — including payoff allegations against one-time Dunbar attorney Michael Grieco — the charges were dropped.

After a month on the taxi squad, Baker got called up to the varsity squad for a couple of games. Now, he’ll work to make the 53-man cut in KC.

In addition to Baker, the Chiefs announced the following futures deals:

Chiefs Promote CB DeAndre Baker

Several weeks after signing DeAndre Baker, the Chiefs are prepared to use the former first-round pick in a game. The defending Super Bowl champions promoted the second-year cornerback to their active roster Saturday.

The Chiefs added the former Giants draftee to their practice squad a month ago, doing so shortly after the Broward County State Attorney’s Office (Fla.) dropped armed robbery charges against him. Baker’s arrest on several felony charges led to the Giants cutting him.

Baker struggled as a rookie, allowing a 116.2 passer rating on passes thrown his way and allowing 61% of those throws to be completed. Pro Football Focus graded him as one of its worst defenders in 2019. The Chiefs are taking a chance on the former Georgia prospect, who was facing prison time until recently.

Baker was alleged to have committed armed robbery a party at gunpoint in May. Originally, Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar was charged as his accomplice, but the Broward State Attorney’s office declined to pursue charges against him. The story only became stranger from there, including payoff allegations against attorney Michael Grieco, who was once representing Dunbar. But both cornerbacks have moved forward with their respective careers.

Kansas City also promoted Stefen Wisniewski and linebacker Emmanuel Smith and activated wideout Byron Pringle from IR.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/20/20

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: CB Prince Smith

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Released: WR Kalija Lipscomb

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: LB Jonas Griffith

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/4/20

Here are today’s reserve/futures deals:

Arizona Cardinals

Kansas City Chiefs

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/2/19

We’ll keep track of Monday’s practice squad moves here:

Atlanta Falcons

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: WR Davion Davis

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers 

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 12/31/18

New Year’s Eve marks the first day eliminated teams can sign players to reserve/futures contracts. Here is the first wave of those decisions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/11/18

Here are the latest NFL practice squad decisions:

Denver Broncos

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Workout Updates: 12/11/18

Here’s the latest from the NFL’s workout circuit, all links going to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account (unless otherwise noted). The first day teams can sign players to reserve/futures contracts is New Year’s Eve.

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • DB Tevaughn Campbell (link)

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

  • LB Sam Eguavoen (CFL tryout) (link)

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Workout Updates: 9/26/18

oday’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints