Kansas City Chiefs reinforce weak position group with reserve/future signing they already got a brief look at in 2025

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to add some of their former practice squad players on reserve/future contracts.

After spending time on the practice squad briefly in December and January, the Chiefs have re-signed DB Tanner McCalister on a reserve/future contract. McCalister initially joined the team after a 10-player tryout that also saw LB Kam Arnold and OL Nick Broeker sign with the practice squad. He filled a spot vacated by Mike Edwards on the practice squad after he was promoted to the 53-man roster. McCalister was ultimately on the practice squad for only three weeks before Kansas City granted him an early release to join the Denver Broncos' practice squad for their playoff run.

The former undrafted free agent from Ohio State in 2023 made his NFL debut with the Cleveland Browns. He spent the majority of his rookie season on the practice squad. However, the 5-foot-11 and 190-pound defensive back was promoted to the active roster for three games in 2023, recording two total tackles, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams. He spent the 2024 NFL season with the Denver Broncos, also spending most of his time on the practice squad with a three-game stint on the 53-man roster. In July of 2025, McCalister signed with the New York Jets, but he didn’t survive 53-man roster cuts.

Tanner McCalister's signing reinforces one of the Chiefs' weakest position groups

The safety position is one of the team's weakest as things currently stand. Entering the 2026 NFL offseason, the Chiefs had just three safeties under contract for the upcoming season: Chamarri Conner, Jaden Hicks, and Chris Roland-Wallace. McCalister's addition brings the position group to four players.

Bryan Cook, Mike Edwards, and Deon Bush are all pending free agents. Bush is also coming off an Achilles injury. It also doesn't help that this position group wasn't particularly good for the Chiefs in 2025, at least not compared to years past. They missed Justin Reid in a big way, even with Cook taking a step forward in his game and leadership. Without Cook, the group is severely lacking and grabbing a lottery ticket like McCalister makes a ton of sense.

This roster move brings the Chiefs up to 9 players signed to reserve/future contracts

The Chiefs continue to be selective regarding reserve/future deals. They’ve now signed six players who were on the team’s practice squad during the 2025 NFL season. They’ve signed just three outside free agents to reserve/future contracts.

• WR Andrew Armstrong
• LB Kam Arnold
• DT Marcus Harris
• WR Jimmy Holiday
• RB ShunDerrick Powell
• OT Matt Waletzko
• TE Tre Watson
• QB Jake Haener
• DB Tanner McCalister

A few more of these deals could trickle in, but it's also possible that this is the last deal for Kansas City. With the Chiefs' salary cap situation, hitting on some of these lottery tickets and developmental players who spent time on the practice squad could be really beneficial.