Insider Says Chiefs Working Phones for Availability at This Position

It’s a sign the Chiefs may not have reservations on their final 53-man roster for free agent Elijah Mitchell or seventh-round rookie Brashard Smith, whose biggest challenge entering camp was expected to be picking up blitzes.

Brian Robinson

Washington’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who goes by Bill, has taken the team by storm in his first preseason after the Commanders took him in the seventh round (245th overall). His emergence has made Brian Robinson available.

Robinson, Washington’s third-round selection in the 2022 draft, could serve as a solid complement to Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt in the Chiefs’ backfield. A 6-1, 228-pound back, Robinson is bigger than Pacheco and Hunt. He has 20 scrimmage touchdowns and averaged 4.1 yards per carry since entering the league.

Brashard Smith

A former wide receiver, Smith has shown flashes in the preseason but his acclimation to the speed and depth of the NFL game might be a little slower than the Chiefs had hoped. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said the Chiefs’ playbook isn’t easy on rookies.

“It's key that we make him understand that,” Nagy said Tuesday. “Because I can imagine a young guy like him coming into this offense, even a guy like Gardner (Minshew) who's here for the first time, who's been in several different offenses, it can be a lot.

“So, you just got to kind of temper their expectations and not allow them to get frustrated, whoever it is. If it's Brashard, if you make a mistake, that's okay; don't make it twice.”

Elijah Mitchell

Moving on from Mitchell would create dead money on the Chiefs’ salary cap. He signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal as an unrestricted free agent in March. After joining the Chiefs, Mitchell said he was back to 100 percent after missing the entire 2024 campaign with a hamstring injury.

“It was very challenging,” Mitchell said in March. “Like, just having the love for football and not being able to step on the field and compete against the best, it really weighed on me a lot. But man, I'm hungrier than ever and I'm ready to roll.”

His best season was his rookie campaign, 2021. San Francisco starter Raheem Mostert left the Week 1 game after just two carries with cartilage damage in his knee, a season-ending injury. Mitchell, a sixth-round draft choice out of Louisiana, assumed the bulk of San Francisco’s reps. He finished with 963 yards and five touchdowns on 207 carries.

In two preseason games for the Chiefs, Mitchell has averaged 2.7 yards per carry (seven attempts, 19 yards) and caught one pass for 13 yards. Seattle dropped him in the end zone last week for a safety.