As the 2024 NFL offseason continues to roll on, teams are adding to their roster along the fringes. The Kansas City Chiefs are no different, as a handful of players have already been signed to reserve/futures contracts. Unfortunately for them, they were on the other end of one of those transactions on Tuesday.
Per an announcement from the Philadelphia Eagles on X, they've signed offensive lineman Darian Kinnard to a futures deal. Kinnard was a practice squad free agent at the end of Kansas City's season, now becoming a former Chief.
Kinnard, who turned 24 in December, was a three-year player at Kentucky in college. His success along the offensive line led to the Chiefs taking a swing on him with the 145th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. In two seasons with the team, however, the former fifth-round pick appeared in just one regular-season game for Kansas City. That came in Week 5 of the 2022-23 campaign, as Kinnard logged six special teams snaps but none on offense.
Following training camp and the preseason, Kinnard didn't break camp with the Chiefs but was later brought back on the practice squad. He served out the season there, not getting elevated for contests during the year. Things just never seemed to click for him in Kansas City, even with the team's efforts to find work for him at tackle and guard. General manager Brett Veach was upfront about Kinnard's inside-outside versatility back in May, and offensive line coach Andy Heck had the following to say about him late in his debut season:
“Kinnard really has grown; we’ve seen him grow. He played the tackle position and then we’ve been getting him some more guard work. I think he’s got that kind of flex to whether he can play either or, but he’s taken to that guard position in there and looks great.”
Despite the Kinnard investment not working out, the Chiefs can still hang their hats on plenty of home-run gets from the 2022 NFL Draft. The class contains blue-chip prospects (Trent McDuffie), plus starter-level contributors (George Karlaftis and Isiah Pacheco) and premier depth pieces (Leo Chenal and Joshua Williams) alike. As Kinnard moves on to his next chapter, Kansas City will do the same and close the book on that pick going forward.
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