The Chiefs made a pair of defensive-line moves Thursday, promoting Marcus Harris to the active roster and bringing Jack Pyburn back on the practice squad as they head into Sunday’s game at Atlanta.
Harris moves up after spending time on Kansas City’s practice squad and getting a standard elevation for last Sunday’s matchup with the New York Jets. This week, he lands on the 53-man roster and gives the Chiefs another body inside at a time when the group is short-handed.
That shortage is real. Peter Woods has already been ruled out with a neck injury after missing all three practices this week, and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott was limited Friday with a knee injury before being ruled out as well on the final injury report.
Harris is in his second season with Kansas City. The Houston Texans drafted him out of Auburn in the seventh round in 2024, taking him No. 247 overall, according to his Chiefs player bio. The Chiefs waived him at the end of this year’s preseason, then signed him back to the practice squad.
Pyburn’s path has been a little more winding. Kansas City claimed the defensive end on waivers at the end of August after he came out of LSU.
He had been waived the day before this latest practice-squad signing, according to the team’s transaction log. His deal keeps him around if the Chiefs need help at defensive end later on.
The timing matters because Kansas City just got a big day from Chris Jones, who posted two sacks in the 35-12 win over the Jets and picked up AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. With Woods and Norman-Lott unavailable, Harris gives the Chiefs another interior option to mix in against an Atlanta offense led on the ground by Bijan Robinson.
Kansas City enters Sunday at 6-2, while Atlanta is 3-6. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Harris’s promotion gives the Chiefs the chance to use him in the defensive tackle rotation, and the game-day inactive list will reveal whether he gets that opportunity in Atlanta.
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