The Chiefs are still searching for the answer to life after Travis Kelce, and this roster cutdown gave them another name to watch: Jake Briningstool.
Kansas City kept four tight ends again as it trimmed to 53, which fits the pattern Andy Reid and Brett Veach have followed for a while now. Kelce is entering his 14th season at 37, and the club has spent years trying to line up a future without ever landing on a true stand-in for No. 87.
Noah Gray was supposed to be the obvious heir when Veach took him in the fifth round out of Duke in 2021. Instead, after Gray signed a three-year contract extension, he has not emerged as the clean answer to the job the Chiefs know is coming. Veach and Reid kept searching, drafting Jared Wiley out of TCU in the fourth round just five months before giving Gray that deal, while also cycling through options like Peyton Hendershot and bringing back veterans such as Jody Fortson.
Wiley still looks like the long-term bet on paper. At 6-foot-6 and 249 pounds, he’s almost built the same as Kelce, who measures 6-foot-5 and 250.
The upside is there, especially around the line of scrimmage, but Wiley was never really a pass-catching tight end until his final season at TCU. That year he topped 500 receiving yards and scored eight touchdowns, numbers that pushed him up the board.
Injuries have slowed his first two seasons, and now he has another body to fend off in the race to become Kelce’s eventual successor.
Briningstool gives the Chiefs a different kind of lottery ticket. The Clemson tight end went undrafted in 2025, signed with Kansas City, and flashed early in rookie minicamp. An injury wiped out his rookie season until late last year, by which point the Chiefs had already moved well past the point of no return.
This summer, though, Briningstool forced his way into the conversation by making the 53-man roster. That puts him behind two players who could become trade candidates once the deadline arrives in a couple of months, but it also gives him a real chance to show what he can do as a receiver and blocker.
His college profile fits the tight end mold the Chiefs keep chasing. Clemson leaned on his hands throughout his final three seasons, when he averaged 41 catches, 437 yards and five touchdowns per year from his sophomore season through his senior year. He also led Kansas City in preseason receptions this year with eight, tying Jalen Royals, and finished second on the team in receiving yards with 76, behind only Andrew Armstrong’s 85.
For a team still hunting for the next version of Kelce, that matters. Briningstool is at least making the tight end room feel less theoretical and more real, even if it’s early. And there’s something especially noticeable about seeing No. 88 on a Chiefs tight end with confidence, the same number Tony Gonzalez wore for 11 years.
Since Gonzalez left in 2008, Kansas City hasn’t had many reasons to go buy another No. 88 jersey. Fortson, Junior Hemingway, Anthony Becht, Ross Travis and Hendershot all came and went with varying degrees of impact, but Briningstool has a chance to be the latest player to make that number feel relevant again.
In Other News...
Chiefs Quietly Closed The Door On A Familiar Quarterback Option
The Chiefs have moved on from a familiar face in the quarterback room, waiving Chris Oladokun with an injury designation as the roster churn continued this week. If he goes unclaimed, he will land on injured reserve, ending a stint that once seemed to give him a foothold in Kansas City after he started the teams final two games last season when injuries thinned the depth chart.
This year told a different story. Kansas City reshaped the quarterback room by bringing in Justin Fields and drafting Garrett Nussmeier, and Oladokun never fully reestablished himself amid a preseason that did not help his case and a concussion protocol issue that factored into the decision. Nussmeier has already taken over Oladokuns jersey number, a small but telling sign that the Chiefs had quietly closed the door on a once-familiar option. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Undrafted Rookie Forced His Way Into A Real Roster Battle
Xavier Nwankpa arrived in Kansas City as an undrafted rookie facing the usual uphill climb, but the safety turned the summer into a real conversation. After offseason evaluations and a strong preseason, he carved out a place on the Chiefs 53-man roster as the fourth safety, the kind of spot that usually goes to a player who proves he can handle more than just a camp body role.
Nwankpas biggest opening came when he was unexpectedly asked to start in the second preseason game after an injury to Alohi Gilman, and he handled the moment well enough to keep building momentum. For a player in his position, special teams often end up being the deciding factor, and Nwankpa made clear that understanding was part of how he stayed in the mix as Kansas City sorted out the back end of its defense. [Read more 🡒]
Patrick Mahomes Family Video Arrived As One Chiefs Question Lingers
Patrick Mahomes and his family were back in the public eye this week as behind-the-scenes footage from a commercial shoot with CommunityAmerica Credit Union made the rounds. The clip offered a lighter look at the Chiefs star away from the field, where his name has remained central to just about every conversation surrounding Kansas City heading into the new season.
Travis Kelce added another layer to that discussion on the New Heights podcast, saying Mahomes determination to return from injury helped shape his own decision to keep playing. Even with that kind of confidence around the locker room, one obvious question still hangs over the Chiefs as they approach the opener against the Denver Broncos: Mahomes is expected to suit up, but nothing has been confirmed yet. [Read more 🡒]