Chiefs quietly shelve once-promising rookie right before season begins

When the 2025 NFL Draft wrapped up and undrafted free agency officially began, there was one player that you might have heard Kansas City Chiefs fans buzzing about. That would be Clemson tight end Jake Briningstool, who fans believed could be a sneaky solid signing.

There was definitely a possibility for the Clemson star to make the roster, too, considering the only true locked-up spots before training camp were reserved for Travis Kelce and Noah Gray. Jared Wiley was still an unknown quantity coming into this offseason, and Robert Tonyan hadn't yet earned the celebrated "Big Bob" designation from Chiefs Kingdom.

However, after creating solid buzz during offseason training activities and rookie minicamp, a hamstring injury has held back Briningstool for the majority of training camp and for the most recent preseason game.

The Chiefs have placed Jake Briningstool on injured reserve to start the season.

On Tuesday, the Chiefs officially placed the former Clemson tight end on injured reserve, but the designation here is important. Instead of being lost for the season, Briningstool has the ability to return to the Chiefs after missing the first four games of the season.

Many seem to think this will be Kelce's final year in the NFL meaning the Chiefs will need to find some depth behind Gray, who likely gets bumped into the TE1 role in 2026. Briningstool obviously wasn't going to slide into a prominent role right away, but if he can impress as a rookie, there's a wide-open opportunity for him or Wiley to gain targets.

Briningstool suffered a hamstring injury during the first week of training camp but returned to practice on August 18 ahead of the Chiefs' final preseason game against the Bears. He didn't return after that practice or play at all in the eventual preseason loss to Chicago.

Briningstool set records at Clemson for a tight end with 127 career catches and 1,380 receiving yards to go with 17 touchdowns in three-plus seasons as a starter.