Don’t be surprised if Mike Edwards earns a real role with the Chiefs again

The last year represented a pretty steep drop for Mike Edwards. The good news is he's back in a situation where the conditions are right for a rebound.

Kansas City Chiefs fans are already familiar with Edwards, a veteran safety who spent the 2023 campaign with the team. Edwards made a few standout plays during the team's run toward a second consecutive Super Bowl championship, including a memorable 97-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in Week 18. (The game was meaningless, but the play was great.)

Last season, however, Edwards went from being a steady contributor and spot starter for championship-caliber teams to a journeyman veteran who was likely wondering how things would end up. Now he's back in Kansas City, hoping to find some consistent playing time once again.

The Buffalo Bills signed Edwards in free agency in 2024 only to release him in November after he'd played in only three games. The Tennessee Titans bit, but released him within a week. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers presented an opportunity to return to the team that drafted him when they claimed him and kept him employed for the duration of the season.

After playing in all 17 games for the Chiefs in 2023 with 5 starts, Edwards appeared in only 8 games in 2024 with only 12 tackles in 2 starts.

After a forgettable 2024, Mike Edwards is back with the Chiefs—and the path to meaningful snaps might be clearer than you think.

Back with the Chiefs, it might be easy to think that Edwards has hit the wall and that K.C. is just keeping him around as an emergency option. However, it's not as if the team has made any major moves at safety this spring. This year's draft came and went without any new additions, and aside from a few rookie free agents, Edwards might have a fairly clear role already earmarked for him.

The Chiefs have Bryan Cook back as a starter, but Justin Reid departed for New Orleans in free agency. The Chiefs' signing of cornerback Kristian Fulton created a domino effect that will shake Chamarri Conner free to play safety full time, and Jaden Hicks is also ready for more playing time. However, there's room for a fourth safety and the competition is hardly compelling.

At this point, it looks as if Edwards is vying for the fourth safety role with the likes of Deon Bush, who is a fringe roster player and special teams ace. Major Williams, Kevin Knowles, and Glendon Miller are also on the roster.

It's important to note that the Chiefs do have plenty of versatile backs who can step in at safety, including Nazeeh Johnson, Christian Roland-Wallace, and others. However, that wouldn't preclude them from using Edwards as a fourth safety. The looming cloud here is that the position seems ripe for a potential preseason addition.

Until then, however, Edwards should be the man for the job, which has to come as a nice surprise following a forgettable '24 season in which playing time was hard to come by.