Chiefs Terminate Contract of Massive Defender Ahead of Opener

The Kansas City Chiefs released defensive tackle Cole Brevard from the practice squad Wednesday, ending a brief return for the 6-foot-3, 346-pound lineman.

The team terminated Brevard’s practice-squad contract as it kept making late changes with the regular season approaching.

Kansas City signed defensive tackle Marcus Harris to the practice squad in that same interior spot. Brevard had been added to the practice squad only two days earlier.

The Chiefs waived him Aug. 30 to get down to the 53-man limit, then brought him back Aug. 31 after the waiver period closed.

Harris was the player Kansas City had cut that Monday to create room for waiver claims of Bryson Eason and Jack Pyburn. Harris cleared waivers and is back on the practice squad.

Brevard signed with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent after going unselected in the 2026 NFL draft. His original deal was a three-year contract worth about $3.11 million, with $60,000 guaranteed at signing.

Team officials had seen the Carmel, Indiana, product as a developmental space-eater who could work behind nose tackle Khyiris Tonga. He was one of the biggest bodies on the offseason roster.

Brevard was a four-star high school recruit who also spent time at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. He drew scholarship offers from Clemson, Florida State, Notre Dame and Ohio State before choosing Penn State.

He played in one game for the Nittany Lions, then transferred to Purdue.

At Purdue he appeared in 37 games and started 23 of them. He finished with 38 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries over three seasons.

He was named Academic All-Big Ten and earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten recognition from the conference’s media panel after the 2024 season.

Brevard transferred once more and spent 2025 at Texas. He played in all 13 games for the Longhorns, made his first start as a Longhorn at Kentucky, and recorded 18 tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups.

His five-year college totals were 56 tackles, nine tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries.

Brevard, born Nov. 6, 2001, is now a free agent. Practice-squad releases do not pass through waivers, so any of the other 31 clubs can sign him right away.

No new team had been reported Wednesday morning.

A return to Kansas City appears unlikely while Harris holds the practice-squad job, unless another interior lineman is lost.

The Chiefs open the season at home against the Denver Broncos on Monday night, Sept. 14. Denver swept the two-game series last season and snapped Kansas City’s long hold on the AFC West.

The Chiefs missed the playoffs in 2025 for the first time since 2012 and the first time in coach Andy Reid’s years with the franchise. Roster work on the defensive line is still unsettled with less than two weeks left before kickoff.