August has a way of exposing the hard truth for veteran NFL players: if nobody has called by now, the market is getting thin. For a few former Chiefs, that reality is starting to look a lot like the end of the road.
Kareem Hunt is the name that jumps out first. Over the last two seasons, he’s been one of the Chiefs’ most encouraging comeback stories, leading the team in rushing yards in each of those years and giving himself a chance to rewrite the final chapter of his Kansas City run after being released less than two years into a promising career for kicking and shoving a woman.
He settled in as a dependable power back and may have been the league’s most effective short-yardage runner in '25. But Kansas City emptied out its running back room this offseason and did not bring him back into the picture.
Isiah Pacheco departed in free agency for Detroit, while the Chiefs turned to Kenneth Walker, Emari Demercado, and Emmett Johnson for youth and explosiveness. Still, Hunt’s return to Kansas City after five seasons away in Week 2 and his eventual finish as the team’s leading rusher in 2024 are proof that a player can still find a way back in if injuries create an opening.
That’s the path he may have to wait for again if he’s going to reach a tenth season.
Deon Bush is in a much tougher spot. A year ago, he was already hanging on as a special teams contributor and depth safety, the kind of veteran who might end up on the practice squad if he landed anywhere at all.
His role had been shrinking over his four years with the Chiefs after six seasons in Chicago, and then a torn Achilles in August wiped out all of 2025. With that injury on top of limited snaps the year before, the climb back looks steep for a player whose NFL career began in 2016.
Mike Edwards has a similar résumé and a slightly better case. Like Bush, he’s an older safety with fewer chances in front of him after seven seasons.
But Edwards has had a more meaningful run as a reserve in the secondary and brings championship experience from both the Buccaneers and Chiefs. That kind of veteran presence can still matter, especially for a young defense, and it wouldn’t be a shock if a team called him in to help fill out a practice squad.
The Chiefs could be that team.
Janarius Robinson is the one whose situation is most tied to health. Kansas City signed him before the 2025 NFL Draft to add flexibility and depth, but a season-ending foot fracture before the regular season changed everything and the Chiefs moved on.
The New England Patriots have already brought him in for a free agent visit this offseason, but no one has signed him yet. Of the four, he may have the best chance to land somewhere in 2026 because edge rushers are always in demand, but he’ll have to show he’s healthy first.
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For a late-round rookie, the challenge is less about making noise and more about stacking steady progress before the preseason arrives. Nussmeier has leaned on the football background he grew up around, with his father, Doug Nussmeier, helping shape that foundation as a former NFL quarterback and now the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. The next step is translating those habits into more consistent camp reps, and that is where the attention around him will keep building. [Read more 🡒]