The Kansas City Chiefs’ first practice squad of the year came into focus Monday, and it’s a group that mixes familiar names, developmental projects and a few players who already know their way around the building.
After Sunday’s 53-man roster cuts, Kansas City announced 12 additions to the practice squad. The list includes players who flashed in camp, veterans with NFL experience and several undrafted free agents still trying to carve out a lane.
Wide receiver Andrew Armstrong is one of the headliners. The second-year Arkansas product led the SEC with 1,140 receiving yards in 2024, then signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2025 before being waived at final cuts.
The 6-foot-4 receiver didn’t stay on the market long, though. He led the Chiefs in the preseason with seven catches for 85 yards.
Another receiver, Omari Evans, also landed on the practice squad after joining Kansas City as an undrafted free agent out of Washington this spring. At 6-foot and 190 pounds, he showed some burst in St.
Joseph. He has also been part of litigation seeking another year of college eligibility.
Kansas City added more size up front with defensive tackle Cole Brevard. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 346 pounds, Brevard profiles as a developmental nose tackle.
His college path was unusual, with stops at Penn State from 2020-21, Purdue from 2022-24 and Texas in 2025. In 2024, he picked up honorable mention All-Big Ten honors after posting 19 tackles, 5.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks.
The Chiefs also brought back center Pete Nygra, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman out of Louisville. He earned honorable mention All-ACC recognition in 2025 and finished his college career with 25 straight starts at center. Kansas City gave him second-team work during training camp.
There’s also a veteran edge presence in Emmanuel Ogbah. At 32, he adds experience to a young defensive line even on the practice squad.
Ogbah played for the Chiefs in 2019, logging 10 games and 5.5 sacks before a pectoral tear in Week 10. He still came away with a Super Bowl LIV ring before moving on to Miami.
The Chiefs also kept a few defenders who have already spent time in the organization. Linebacker Cole Christiansen has been with Kansas City since signing in 2022 and has bounced between the roster and practice squad as an emergency linebacker. He has appeared in 13 games, with all of his snaps on special teams.
Linebacker Cam Jones is back as well after a stint with the New York Jets. The 26-year-old signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Indiana in 2023, made the final roster in both 2023 and 2024, and played in all 17 games in each season, mostly on special teams. He also earned a ring in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Safety Tanner McCalister returns to Kansas City after a brief prior stop on the practice squad last winter. He originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Cleveland Browns out of Ohio State in 2023. He played six games total across 2023 with Cleveland and 2024 with Denver.
The Chiefs also added two more defensive backs with different paths to the NFL. Cornerback D’Arco Perkins-McAllister arrived as a 2026 undrafted free agent out of Louisiana-Monroe. In 10 games in 2025, he had 33 tackles, seven pass breakups and four sacks, plus a blocked field goal against Arkansas State.
Safety DeShon Singleton is a 23-year-old undrafted free agent out of Nebraska who drew attention at the NFL Scouting Combine for his measurables and explosion. He measured 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds with a 39-inch vertical and a 10-foot-10 broad jump. Over his final two college seasons, he piled up 141 tackles, including 70 tackles, two interceptions, four pass breakups and four tackles for loss in 2025.
Running back Jadyn Ott also stuck around. Kansas City signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma after this year’s draft, and he worked as the fifth back to touch the football during training camp.
His best college season came in 2023 at California, when he rushed for more than 1,300 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. Injuries slowed him in 2024 at Cal before he transferred to Oklahoma, and with Emari Demercado claimed by the Dallas Cowboys, Ott now sits as Kansas City’s fourth back.
Finally, defensive end Tyreke Smith returns to the practice squad. A former fifth-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks out of Ohio State in the 2022 NFL Draft, Smith has appeared in only three career games, one for Seattle and two for Arizona, all in 2023.
He spent last summer on the Chiefs’ practice squad and was elevated in December, though he never played in a game. He had a strong camp before a hamstring injury in Kansas City’s second preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
To clear space for the new practice squad moves, the Chiefs waived defensive tackle Marcus Harris and cornerback Kevin Knowles on Monday. Kansas City also made room on the roster by adding defensive tackle Bryson Eason and defensive end Jack Pyburn. Harris and Knowles can be added to the practice squad if they clear waivers Tuesday.
In Other News...
Chiefs Practice Squad Battle Could Get Interesting Behind The 53
With Kansas Citys 53-man roster now set, the next layer of roster building is where things can get a little more revealing. The Chiefs are expected to sort through a practice squad mix shaped by preseason performance, past experience and the teams own depth needs, with up to 16 players available to stick around behind the active roster.
There is also some built-in flexibility in how the Chiefs can fill those spots, including room for six veterans and an extra opening through the International Player Pathway exemption. For a team that has made a habit of finding useful depth in unexpected places, the battle for those final practice squad jobs could end up being more interesting than it first appears. [Read more 🡒]
Former Chiefs Suddenly Face A Harsh Reality After Roster Cuts
Roster cuts always hit a little harder at this point on the calendar, and for a handful of former Chiefs, the reality is now set in. As NFL teams trimmed down to 53 players, familiar names from recent Kansas City seasons found themselves on the move, from Khalen Saunders and Carson Steele to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Shane Buechele, Wanya Morris, Baylor Cupp, Mecole Hardman and Bailey Zappe. For Chiefs fans, it is another reminder of how quickly a roster can change, especially for players whose time in Kansas City once looked like part of a longer run.
Some of those players could still surface again in one form or another, whether on a practice squad or with another opportunity elsewhere, but the immediate picture is far less certain. The most notable part of this round of moves is not just who was cut, but how many former Chiefs are now waiting to see whether a familiar door opens again, or whether this is the point where a new path finally takes over. [Read more 🡒]
Former Chiefs Are Already Catching On Elsewhere After Cut-Down Day
The NFLs roster churn after cut-down day has already sent a familiar handful of former Chiefs looking for new homes, and several of them landed quickly. Emari Demercado was claimed by the Cowboys, Chu Godrick was claimed by the Dolphins, and Malik Herring also signed with Miami, while Esa Pole headed to the Commanders practice squad and Melvin Smith Jr. found a spot with the Titans.
Dallas and Miami, in particular, wasted little time adding depth pieces with Kansas City ties, and the Cowboys also brought in Wanya Morris on their practice squad. Jake Haener joined the Giants taxi squad as part of the same wave of post-cut roster movement, a reminder that even after final cuts, there is still plenty of NFL business left for players trying to stick somewhere new. [Read more 🡒]