Chiefs quietly rebuild practice squad with ex-stars and fan-favorite return

With one week to go until the start of the regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs have completely reshaped their practice squad (and a bit more) with the announcement of several roster moves.

The biggest news of the day was the promotion of tight end Robert Tonyan (deservedly so) to the team's active roster, a move that was obviously coming after he'd initially been placed on the practice squad when cuts were due by the NFL's deadline. The Chiefs just had some roster gymnastics to attend to first.

Tonyan earned a spot on the Chiefs' roster in training camp with an exceptional performance that altered the narrative around him, shifting from a journeyman offseason signing to an exciting tertiary addition. Tonyan not only showed off good hands, but he's also the team's best blocker among the lot.

The Chiefs made a flurry of roster moves on Friday, one week before they take on the Chargers to open the season.

Then came the myriad changes to the practice squad, with six players arriving en masse and two players receiving a pink slip.

The Chiefs are welcome a few new faces to the mix as well as an old friend. The most familiar will be running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The move was reported earlier this week, but didn't become official until Friday. The Chiefs now have CEH and Carson Steele on the practice squad to support the four backs on the roster.

Two new defensive tackles are also in the mix as the Chiefs try to find something more at the position. Brett Veach admitted that he's actively searching for help along the defensive interior, and his latest attempts have brought in a pair of former third-round busts from the 2023 NFL Draft: Brodric Martin, formerly of the Detroit Lions, and Zacch Pickens, formerly of the Chicago Bears.

The Chiefs continued to bolster the defensive line with two more ends on the practice squad as well in Ethan Downs and Tyreke Smith. Downs had 12.5 sacks over the last four years for the Oklahoma Sooners and landed a rookie free agent deal with the Jaguars shortly after the draft. He was cut earlier this week.

Smith is a former edge rusher from Ohio State who was drafted in the fifth round by the Seahawks in the 2022 NFL Draft. After leaving for a short stint with the Arizona Cardinals, he spent last season back on the Seahawks' practice squad. He has a total of 19 defensive snaps played since being drafted.

Defensive back Jammie Robinson is the final signing, and gives the Chiefs another safety look along with Mike Edwards on the practice squad. The South Carolina grad was a fifth round choice in 2023 by the Carolina Panthers, and he even made two starts that season in 15 games and made another six appearances in 2024.

To create the requisite space for all of the new signings, the Chiefs decided to terminate the contracts of defensive tackle Coziah Izzard, who was a rookie free agent signing out of Penn State, and wide receiver Hal Presley, who was a replacement at the position for Justyn Ross shortly before training camp.