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Kansas City Chiefs News & Rumors

Chiefs-Bucs Matchup To Remain In Tampa

September 29th, 2022 at 12:05pm CST by Ben Levine

SEPTEMBER 29: Although the Bucs are preparing for the game in Miami, the NFL will keep Sunday’s matchup in Tampa. The Bucs announced that, after coordination with local and state agencies following Hurricane Ian’s impact, the game will be played as scheduled.

SEPTEMBER 28: NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said the Chiefs-Bucs game remains on schedule for Sunday night in Tampa. However, if this storm forces a change, it will be played Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

SEPTEMBER 26: With Hurricane Ian heading towards Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers are preparing contingency plans for this weekend’s home game against the Chiefs. The team announced that they’ll practice in Miami for the rest of the week, but there’s been no update to this weekend’s game.

The team will be practicing at the Miami Dolphins’ Baptist Health Training Complex. The Dolphins are expected to depart for Cincinnati on Wednesday, at which time the Buccaneers will be free to use their facilities.

The organization will continue to consult with the NFL and local officials regarding the status of Sunday night’s game against the Chiefs. However, at the moment, there have been no changes to the 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff.

What if the Buccaneers are unable to host Sunday night’s game? Things might get a bit dicey. Per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington on Twitter, the NFL is unlikely to use Miami as a new game site, even with the Dolphins on the road for Week 4. That’s because if Tampa Bay faces “devastating impact,” then the NFL doesn’t want to risk using state resources to relocate the game.

That doesn’t mean the game would be postponed. Instead, the Buccaneers and Chiefs would likely play at a neutral site, with Darlington suggesting Minneapolis. The Vikings will be in London for this weekend’s game against the Saints.

Alvin Kamara’s Battery Case Delayed Again

September 29th, 2022 at 11:15am CST by Sam Robinson

Alvin Kamara and Chris Lammons‘ alleged battery of a man in Las Vegas has put both players on the suspension radar, but any prospective ban might not happen until next season. The already-delayed case brought another postponement Thursday.

Lawyers for Kamara and Lammons were in court today, but David Charns of Las Vegas 8 News Now tweets the proceedings have been pushed to Nov. 9. Although a plea agreement may be in play, per NewOrleans.football’s Mike Triplett (on Twitter), the latest delay increases Kamara’s chances of playing out the 2022 season.

This is related to the Pro Bowl-weekend incident that had Kamara and Lammons, currently with the Chiefs, at the scene of a fight at a Vegas casino. Lammons and Kamara, who has since been slapped with a civil lawsuit as well, were each charged with battery resulting in substantial bodily harm and conspiracy to commit battery. The Saints running back has been bracing for a six-game ban for months.

Kamara, 27, said he threw punches thinking the victim was running away and that he could not remember if he punched Darnell Greene while he was on the ground. Video surveillance showed Kamara punching Greene approximately eight times and also revealed other members of Kamara’s group stomping on the victim, who was knocked unconscious and sustained an orbital bone fracture. Lammons currently resides as a Chiefs backup cornerback.

This year’s Saints have Mark Ingram as Kamara’s top backup. With Ingram in his age-33 season, that might not be the case in 2023. Ingram’s contract expires at season’s end. Latavius Murray, 32, also rejoined the Saints on a practice squad deal, doing so ahead of a Week 2 game Kamara missed due to injury. Should a Kamara suspension surface this year, the two 30-somethings would likely be asked to carry the load. If Kamara’s ban commences next year, it should be expected the Saints will have a younger Kamara backup prepared to play a role. Third-year UDFA Tony Jones and veteran special-teamer Dwayne Washington are also on New Orleans’ roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/22

September 28th, 2022 at 6:03pm CST by Ely Allen

Here today’s minor moves from around the league:

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/28/22

September 28th, 2022 at 5:59pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the practice squad signings and releases for today:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: OLB Gerri Green

Chiefs To Add K Matthew Wright

September 27th, 2022 at 5:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs identified their Matt Ammendola replacement. They are adding former Jaguars kicker Matthew Wright to their practice squad, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Wright will move into position as Kansas City’s Harrison Butker fill-in leg. It is not known if Butker will be able to return for Week 4, after missing the past two games, but the Chiefs decided Ammendola — after two short-range misses in Sunday’s loss to the Colts — was not the answer.

The Jaguars waived Wright earlier this year, after he spent most of last season as their kicker. Wright, 26, made 21 of 24 field goal tries during his Jags tenure. His most notable contribution came during the team’s most recent London game, which involved two Wright 50-plus-yard makes in the fourth quarter. That effort gave Urban Meyer the first of his two NFL wins, but the Jags replaced Wright this year. While Jacksonville has encountered trouble staffing its kicker gig in the months following Wright’s May exit, this marks his first opportunity since that departure.

Ammendola kicked in two games for the Chiefs this season. After making each of his five kicks (two field goals, three extra points), the former Jet missed a PAT and a 34-yard field goal Sunday in Indianapolis. Each of Wright’s three 2021 misses came from beyond 40 yards. He was 4-for-6 from beyond 50.

The Chiefs have been without Butker since Week 1, when he suffered an ankle injury early in Kansas City’s win in Arizona. Although the team used safety Justin Reid as its emergency kicker against the Cardinals, it naturally opted for trained NFL legs since. Michael Badgley also participated in the workout that led to Wright’s signing. Badgley spent most of last season with the Colts, having been the team’s Rodrigo Blankenship injury replacement.

Chiefs Release K Matt Ammendola From Practice Squad

September 26th, 2022 at 4:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Should Harrison Butker be unavailable for the Chiefs’ Week 4 game against the Buccaneers, Matt Ammendola will almost certainly not be the player filling in. The Chiefs released the young kicker from their practice squad Monday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

The Jets’ primary kicker in 2021, Ammendola caught on with the Chiefs to replace Butker in Week 2. While he made all five of his kicks against the Chargers (two field goals, three extra points), the Oklahoma State product struggled against the Colts. The second-year kicker missed the only extra point he tried and was 1-for-2 on field goals, with the miss coming from 34 yards out.

Kansas City elevated Ammendola from the practice squad to its active roster ahead of its Week 3 game in Indianapolis. Due to the increased P-squad flexibility the league introduced in 2020, teams can elevate two players to gameday rosters without exposing them to waivers. Ammendola reverted to the Chiefs’ P-squad Monday, but the team is not saving a spot for him at this point.

Although other blunders — including a decision to roll out an unsuccessful fake-field goal play — led to the Chiefs’ upset loss in Indianapolis, Ammendola’s were likely to lead to his exit. The 25-year-old specialist was just 13-for-19 on field goals as a Jet, leading the team to sign Greg Zuerlein. The Pro Bowler beat out Ammendola in training camp this year, but Butker’s injury — after the Chiefs used safety Justin Reid as their emergency kicker in Week 1 — led to another opportunity.

No other kickers reside on the Chiefs’ taxi squad. Workouts will likely be on tap to replace Ammendola in that role. Butker, who has been in place as Kansas City’s kicker since early in the 2017 season, entered this season having missed just one career game.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/24/22

September 24th, 2022 at 4:28pm CST by Ely Allen

Lots of moves leading into gameday. Remember that players promoted from the practice squad for games will revert back to the practice squad after:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Patrick Mahomes Played Central Role In Chiefs Signing JuJu Smith-Schuster, MVS

September 23rd, 2022 at 1:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs are 2-0 and enter Week 3 second in points per game. The team, which traded Tyreek Hill and lost other wide receivers in free agency, heads to Indianapolis ranked sixth in passing yards and third in offensive DVOA.

Patrick Mahomes is obviously driving this effort, but the former MVP and Super Bowl MVP is still adjusting to a new-look receiving corps. Kansas City’s fifth-year starter did plenty to assemble this group, beginning shortly after the Hill extension talks took a turn that led to the blockbuster swap with Miami.

Chiefs GM Brett Veach informed Mahomes in mid-March of the increasing likelihood Hill would be dealt, Nate Taylor of The Athletic notes, with the perennial Pro Bowl wideout’s request for a significant raise becoming an untenable proposition for the Chiefs (subscription required). The Raiders’ Davante Adams contract changed Hill’s approach, and the Chiefs added their two free agent receiver targets shortly after the Adams extension (JuJu Smith-Schuster) and the Hill trade (Marquez Valdes-Scantling).

Although it looked for a bit like the Chiefs brought in Smith-Schuster to complement Hill, due to the team’s No. 1 wideout still being on the team when the longtime Steeler signed, Taylor adds Mahomes had begun recruiting Smith-Schuster shortly after learning Hill could be gone. Smith-Schuster had been on Kansas City’s radar for two offseasons. The Chiefs pursued him in 2021, but the former Steelers second-round pick opted to stay in Pittsburgh for one more year. A January report indicated Smith-Schuster was interested in circling back to the Chiefs as well. Mahomes helped move this transaction — a one-year, $3.76MM deal — across the finish line, eyeing the Pittsburgh slot as a player who could excel in myriad capacities in Kansas City.

Valdes-Scantling did not have the Chiefs on his radar to start free agency, according to Taylor, but Mahomes called the ex-Packers deep threat shortly after the Hill deal commenced. MVS visited the Chiefs and signed with them a day later. The Packers had made a late push to retain their former fifth-round pick, but Taylor notes they offered a one-year deal. MVS had expected to land a one-year pact, however, and the Chiefs only guaranteed $8.56MM of the wideout’s three-year, $30MM deal at signing.

Combined, the Chiefs’ top four receivers’ salaries — also factoring in Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore‘s second-round contracts — come in at a fraction of Hill’s league-record $30MM-per-year Dolphins dough. Hill has gotten off to a fast start in Miami and fit better on a Dolphins payroll lacking a franchise-QB salary. Travis Kelce still leads the Chiefs in receiving by a wide margin — something that probably should be expected to be the case at season’s end, barring injury — while Smith-Schuster, MVS and Hardman have combined for 21 receptions through two games. Moore is being brought along slower, having played just 15 offensive snaps in two weeks.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/22/22

September 22nd, 2022 at 4:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Los Angeles Rams

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

The Rams eyed Jolly as a UDFA target this year, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets. The Appalachian State product instead landed with the Browns. This move comes after the Rams placed Troy Hill on IR. The team also is uncertain to have Decobie Durant this week; Durant sustained a hamstring injury in Week 3.

A Kansas City-area native, Blanton will leave his home town again but rejoin a Rams team that carried him on its active roster or practice squad from 2019-21. Rams tight end Brycen Hopkins ran into a three-game suspension this week.

Jones vied for the Titans’ starting left guard job, which Rodger Saffold‘s cap-casualty cut vacated in March. Despite signing Jones to a two-year, $4.8MM deal in free agency, the Titans gave the gig to former UDFA Aaron Brewer. Although Jones has not played this season, he must miss four more games because of this transaction.

Chiefs Eyeing Harris As Gay Fill-In

September 22nd, 2022 at 10:44am CST by Sam Robinson
  • Willie Gay‘s four-game suspension will take a starting linebacker off the field for the Chiefs. While the team used a third-round pick on Leo Chenal this year, Andy Reid said (via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher, on Twitter) Darius Harris will be first in line to fill in for Gay. The Middle Tennessee State alum has been with the Chiefs since 2019, being part of the team’s UDFA class. Spending much of his career on Kansas City’s practice squad, Harris has played 13 games — including two starts, both in 2020 — with the team.
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