Marlon

Tuipulotu

The Chiefs cut Tonyan after signing him to a one-year deal this offseason. However, Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell reports the plan is for Tonyan to return to the team. The Chiefs also released LB Cole Christiansen, S Mike Edwards, DT Mike Pennel, and DT Marlon Tuipulotu. They also waived CB Elijhah Badger, DE Owen Carney, CB Ajani Carter, T Dalton Cooper, S Jacobe Covington, WR Mac Dalena, T Chukwuebuka Godrick, G C.J. Hanson, CB Azizi Hearn, WR Jimmy Holiday, DT Coziah Izzard, LB Cam Jones, CB Kevin Knowles, C Joey Lombard, DT Fabien Lovett, DE Nate Matlack, S Glendon Miller, LB Xander Mueller, QB Chris Oladokun, T Esa Pole, WR Hal Presley, WR Key’Shawn Smith, CB Melvin Smith, TE Geor’Quarius Spivey, TE Tre Watson, RB Michael Wiley, and S Major Williams.

Before appearing in two games for the Chiefs in 2024, Tuipulotu was with the Eagles for three seasons. The 25-year-old has three sacks through 30 career games. He has spent his time in the NFL as a rotational defensive tackle for two of the best teams in the league and now returns to Kansas City to compete for a similar role.

Not exactly the most exciting list of inactives. Hollywood Brown (shoulder) was placed on injured reserve earlier in the week, for those that missed that news.

Tuipulotu (6'3/305) is a member of a prestigious familial line of USC standouts that includes DT Fili Moala, S Talanoa Hufanga and his brother Tuli Tuipulotu. A three-year starter, the Trojans’ star registered 1,336 snaps, 104 tackles, 3 PBU, 8.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and 47 pressures. He brings a workmanlike disposition to the game while splitting his reps from zero-to-three tech. Tuipulotu plays with incredible strength and control as a determined run defender who is adept at exploiting edges and powering through blocks despite being undersized as a nose. He was a 2020 first-team All-Pac-12 performer who had his best season while shouldering extra responsibility with fellow IDL Jay Tufele opting out. Tuipulotu lacks diversity in his pass-rushing move-set and is unlikely to develop into a three-down contributor, but he can chew up blocks in the run game in a way similar to New York Jets DT Foley Fatukasi. With Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave already established on the interior of Philly’s defensive line, Tuipulotu will have to stand out as a run-stuffer to see the field as a rookie.

Tuipulotu announced his decision to trade in the Huskies hat for the Trojans one in a Twitter post following a weekend visit to USC. He had been committed to Washington since last April. The 6-foot-2, 280-pound native of Independence, Oregon, ranks as Rivals’ No. 126 overall prospect in the 2017 cycle. Scout.com notes that while Tuipulotu has the ability to play multiple positions along the defensive line, "[h]e likely projects a 3-tech[ique] in college.”

“The four-star can explode out and knock blockers back to generate pressure with an effective bull rush and he also displays he can attack half-man with violent hands to work past blockers,” Haubert writes. The analyst notes that despite the fact that the 6-foot-2, 280-pound Tuipulotu might not have an overtly intimidating frame compared to some of his peers, he is “a heck of a football player in the trenches that nicely blends ability, effort and toughness.” Rivals ranks him as their No. 126 overall prospect in the 2017 class. USC flipped him from a longstanding Washington commitment earlier this week.

“This 17-year-old early enrollee rose to USC’s first string almost immediately,” Mandel writes. The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder led all Trojan defenders with four tackles in the team’s spring game. USC HC Clay Helton offered his fair share of high praise for the four-star freshman, saying, “You don’t see too many 300-pound men with his athleticism and his quick twitch.” He fills an immediate need for the Trojans, who are looking to replace DT Stevie Tu’ikolovatu (a seventh-round pick by the Buccaneers in last weekend’s draft).

Trojans HC Clay Helton said Tuipulotu sprained his MCL. The Trojans play Texas on Saturday.

Tuipolotu (6'2/280) sustained a sprained MCL in the Trojans’ win over Stanford in Week 2. All signs at this point have him sitting out against Texas. The expectation, here, is that the true freshman could end up missing upwards of three weeks of action, with HC Clay Helton saying that Tuipolotu “has not really moved around” during the practice week.

“For the big picture it’s very, very positive for him, it was actually better than they thought and the future is bright for the kid,” said HC Clay Helton, who indicated that the injury was to the lower back. It has been bothering the 6-foot-2, 280-pounder on-and-off since he joined the Trojans as a four-star recruit out of high school this offseason. He has also been dealing with a knee injury, though that in and of itself would not have kept him from playing again this season. Tuipulotu wraps up his first taste of collegiate ball having recorded a pair of tackles.