KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One day after trimming the active roster to 53 players, the Kansas City Chiefs are beginning to build a 16-player practice squad for the 2022 season.
The team announced 14 signings, including several veterans who were cut ahead of the NFL roster cut-down deadline, early Wednesday afternoon.
The Chiefs are bringing back wide receiver Daurice Fountain, linebacker Elijah Lee, center Austin Reiter and defensive tackles Danny Shelton and Taylor Stallworth to the practice squad.
The only 2022 draft pick who didn’t make the initial roster — defensive back Nazeeh Johnson, a seventh-round pick — also will remain in Kansas City on the practice squad.
Three other players who've spent time on the Chiefs' practice squad in past seasons — safety Zayne Anderson, tight end Jordan Franks and wide receiver Cornell Powell — also signed with the team's practice squad for the upcoming season.
The other players announced as part of the practice squad who spent training camp with Kansas City are guard Mike Caliendo, linebacker Jack Cochrane, running back Jerrion Ealy and defensive end Azur Kamara.
There also were a couple new additions from another team, including Blue Springs South and Mizzou graduate Kendall Blanton.
The Chiefs reportedly tried to claim Blanton after he was waived by the Los Angeles Rams, but Washington snagged him off the waiver wire with a higher priority.
Washington then cut Blanton on Tuesday, giving Kansas City a second chance to add the Super Bowl LVI champion.
The Chiefs, who kept three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, reportedly added another quarterback — former South Florida, Samford and South Dakota State QB Chris Oladokun — to the practice squad, according to Pro Football Focus.
Oladokun was a seventh-round pick by Pittsburgh after throwing for 3,164 yards and 25 touchdowns last season with the Jackrabbits as a graduate transfer.
In other moves Wednesday, Kansas City added tight end Matt Bushman, who scored two touchdowns before breaking his clavicle in the preseason finale last week, to injured reserve, according to Arrowhead Pride’s Pete Sweeney.
The Chiefs lost at least one player, defensive tackle Matt Dickerson, via the waiver wire. The former UCLA standout was poached by Atlanta after he was waived, according to NFL Network Reporter Tom Pelissero.
Former University of Missouri safety Tyree Gillespie, who was cut by Tennessee, also found a new home with Jacksonville, according to the NFL waiver wire.
Thirteen of the 14 players announced were with the team during training camp.
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said the Chiefs focused on working to keep the best players on the team.
He also provided an update on tight end Blake Bell, who made the team's initial 53-man roster despite undergoing hip surgery after he was injured during the Chiefs' preseason opener Aug. 13 at Chicago.
Veach said the team is "working through" the timing of placing Bell on injured reserve, but the team is "optimistic" he'll be able to return this season, which is why he made the 53-man roster.
Kansas City signed Lee — the starting strong-side linebacker and special teams standout, who graduated from Blue Springs — to the practice squad, but it's expected he'll take Bell's spot on the active roster when the procedural move is made.
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