Defensive end Ethan Downs’s bid to make the Chiefs has come to an early end.
Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com reports that Downs tore his ACL during a workout. The Chiefs had rookies and a handful of other players working out ahead of the official start of training camp this week.
Downs signed to the Chiefs’ practice squad last August and he appeared in one game for the team during the regular season. Downs had five tackles and a forced fumble while seeing action on both defense and special teams.
The injury will keep Downs out for the entire season and the team will likely add another player to the roster once Downs is placed on injured reserve.
The Chiefs were targeting former Oklahoma defensive end R Mason Thomas as a high priority with their second-round draft pick, and they didn’t want anyone to know. Including Thomas.
Thomas, who went to Kansas City with the 40th overall pick in April, says he was shocked when his phone rang during the second round and it was the Chiefs, talking to him for the first time since a meeting at the Scouting Combine two months earlier.
“I would’ve never known a Kansas City, Missouri, area code would call my phone on draft day. They didn’t really talk as much,” Thomas said. “I had a formal meeting with them, and that was the first meeting of the Combine. After that we didn’t talk. So I guess they’re low-key. They like to keep it quiet.”
Some teams like to bring in the players they’re interested in drafting for meetings at the team facility to get to know them better. Other teams view those meetings as a way for other teams to identify the players they want and perhaps move up ahead of them in the draft. The Chiefs decided not to let anyone know Thomas was their guy, until they let Thomas know when they were on the clock.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s wife, Mia Bieniemy, is in stable condition after she was shot on Sunday night, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid told reporters after Monday’s practice.
Eric Bieniemy has departed the team to be with his wife in Virginia. Reid said there is currently no timetable for Bieniemy’s return.
“Our hearts go out to Eric Bieniemy,” Reid said, via Nate Taylor of ESPN. “Mia is stable, which is a plus. ... We all love EB and you hate seeing those things happen. ... Real life. You take care of that. She’s a saint, one of God’s good blessings. But things happen.”
While Bieniemy is away from the team, pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier will handle the offensive coordinator duties.
Bleymaier has been with the Chiefs since 2016 and has served in his current role since 2023.
Bieniemy’s son, Elijah, was arrested and charged in the shooting. Elijah Bieniemy is being held without bond and the investigation is ongoing.
More details are emerging in connection with the news that the wife of Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was shot in their Virginia home.
The Loudon County, Virginia, sheriff’s office has announced that Bieniemy’s son, Elijah, was “arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding, Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony, and Discharge of a Firearm Inside of a Dwelling.”
Mia Biemieny was shot multiple times, and she suffered “serious injuries.”
Elijah Bieniemy is being held without bond. The investigation, per the sheriff’s office, is ongoing.
Eric Bieniemy returned to the Chiefs as offensive coordinator in 2026. He previously held the job from 2018 through 2022. Since then, he worked as offensive coordinator of the Commanders in 2023, offensive coordinator at UCLA in 2024, and running backs coach for the Bears in 2025.
The wife of Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was reportedly shot on Sunday night at the couple’s home in Virginia.
Nate Taylor of ESPN reports, citing unnamed sources, Mia Bieniemy has been hospitalized following the incident. Taylor adds that police in Loudoun County, Virginia, have confirmed a person was being treated for “serious injuries.” The authorities did not disclose the victim’s identity.
Eric Bieniemy is in Missouri, for Chiefs training camp.
Via Taylor, the Chiefs said in a statement they are “aware of the incident involving Eric Bieniemy’s family.” The Chiefs released no other details.
Bieniemy returned to the Chiefs as offensive coordinator in 2026. He had served in that role from 2018 through 2022.
