The Chiefs opened their three-day rookie minicamp on Friday and they added 20 undrafted free agents to their roster as it got underway.
The group includes wide receiver Jeff Caldwell, who grabbed attention at the Scouting Combine for testing well across the board. Caldwell caught 32 passes for 478 yards and six touchdowns at Cincinnati last season.
Caldwell is joined by Duke defensive end Vincent Anthony, Miami linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, Texas defensive tackle Cole Brevard, Cal wide receiver Jacob De Jesus, Toledo edge rusher Anthony Dunn, Washington wide receiver Omari Evans, Wyoming tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, Iowa edge rusher Ethan Hurkett, Colorado defensive tackle Amari McNeill, Iowa safety Xavier Nwankpa, Louisville center Pete Nygra, Oklahoma running back Jaydn Ott, Michigan defensive tackle Damon Payne, Lousiana-Monroe cornerback D’Arco Perkins-McAllister, San Diego State cornerback Bryce Phillips, Nebraska safety DeShon Singleton, Texas A&M running back E.J. Smith, LSU guard Josh Thompson, and Houston cornerback Zelmar Vedder.
The Chiefs also have more than 70 players trying out at the minicamp, so there will likely be some roster churning in the coming days.
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Tight end Travis Kelce didn’t return to the Chiefs with the hope of the team having another season like 2025 and he thinks this year’s draft class can help spark a quick turnaround in Kansas City.
Kelce said on his New Heights podcast that most clubs that land in the top 10 picks of the draft are “really not too good,” but he feels the Chiefs are an exception to that rule because of their history of success. He said he thinks the team’s first-round picks — cornerback Mansoor Delane and defensive tackle Peter Woods — can help right away and he seems particularly excited about what second-round edge rusher R Mason Thomas brings to the table.
“The guy is a f—king freak of nature in terms of athleticism and explosiveness,” Kelce said. “I can’t wait to see how this guy gets after the quarterback, man. It’s been kinda something that the Chiefs have been looking at to get better at. That’s getting after the QB and really putting quarterbacks under duress. Obviously, we’ve always had Chris Jones there, and George [Karlaftis] is a f—king workhorse. . . . I think this is going to be a game-changer at the edge position.”
Kelce won’t be on the field with Thomas or the two first-rounders, but he and the rest of the offense will find themselves in advantageous situations if the trio makes the kind of immediate impact he expects to see this fall.
The Chiefs opened up a spot on their 90-man roster on Wednesday.
The NFL’s daily transaction report shows that they waived running back ShunDerrick Powell. There was no corresponding addition, but it gives the Chiefs another spot to use on an undrafted rookie or other player that catches their eye.
Powell signed a futures contract in January. He signed with the Eagles after going undrafted last year, but did not make the team out of camp.
Kenneth Walker, Brashard Smith, Emari Demercado, and fifth-round pick Emmett Johnson are on the running back depth chart. A report indicated the team is also going to sign E.J. Smith, who went undrafted and is the son of Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith.
The transaction report also shows that the Chiefs released an international player exemption for offensive lineman Chukwuebuka Godrick. He played four games and made three starts last season. Godrick will not count against the 90-man limit this offseason.
A year ago, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was widely regarded as a first-round draft prospect. So it’s understandable if he was disappointed not to hear his name called until late in the seventh round, when the Chiefs took him with the 249th overall pick.
But when Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach called Nussmeier to let him know where his NFL home would be, Veach told him there’s no better place a quarterback can go than Kansas City.
“I know it’s been a long day, but just know that you’re going to head to the best quarterback room in the NFL here,” Veach told Nussmeier, in video released by the Chiefs. “We’re going to turn this pick in now and make you the newest member of the Kansas City Chiefs.”
Nussmeier will get to work alongside Patrick Mahomes, as well as Chiefs backup quarterback Justin Fields, and get coached by Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy was UCLA’s offensive coordinator in 2024, when Nussmeier led LSU to a 34-17 win over UCLA by throwing for 352 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
“Last time I saw you, I was on the opposite sideline at UCLA,” Bieniemy told Nussmeier. “You had a pretty good game against us. I’m very proud of you and looking forward to having this opportunity to work with you.”
Nussmeier knows he’s not going to a place where he’ll have any opportunity to compete for the starting job, but he’s going to a quarterback room where he’ll learn a lot, and hope to eventually show, somewhere, that he’s capable of being the NFL starting quarterback he was projected as being early in his career at LSU.
Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier waited longer than he would have liked to be drafted this weekend, but he’s happy about where he landed.
The Chiefs picked Nussmeier in the seventh round on Saturday and the former LSU starter said that his mindset as he dropped down the board was that “it’s not when, it’s where.” He said that he thinks the presence of head coach Andy Reid and starter Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City will provide him with a chance to grow.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to learn,” Nussmeier said, via Nate Taylor of ESPN.com. “I’m just grateful that I have this opportunity. I can only imagine. I’m so excited to be in a room with those guys, coach Reid and his unbelievable offensive mind and sitting behind Patrick and steal some things from him and see the game through his eyes. It’s going to be an unbelievable experience for me.”
Injuries limited Nussmeier to nine games last season and they contributed to a drop in production along with his drop in the draft. He’ll have a chance to reverse that trajectory if he can impress Reid and the rest of the staff once he’s on the field with the Chiefs.
Texas A&M running back E.J. Smith participated in Dallas Day, the Cowboys’ annual workout day for local prospects. That gave Cowboys fans hope that Smith might sign with the hometown team and follow in the footsteps of his father.
But as he did in choosing his college, E.J. Smith is his own man.
After going undrafted, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, is signing with the Chiefs.
E.J. Smith announced his decision on Instagram.
“Excited to officially sign with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent,” Smith wrote. “Nothing is given. Everything is earned. I’m ready to work, learn, and prove myself every single day. Thank you to my family, coaches, teammates, and everyone who believed in me and pushed me to this moment. The journey hasn’t been easy, but every challenge prepared me for this next step. Grateful is an understatement. All glory to God for this opportunity. Let’s get it Chiefs Kingdom.”
Smith spent four seasons at Stanford and two at Texas A&M.
He had only 44 carries for 205 yards and four touchdowns and four catches for 18 yards in 2025, but had two memorable plays for the Aggies. Smith picked up a first down on fourth-and-1 at his own 34-yard line with 10 minutes left in a close game with Arkansas, getting to the stick despite tight end Micah Riley running into him in the backfield. In a game against UTSA, Smith made three blocks on K.C. Concepcion’s 80-yard punt return.
He finished his career with 207 carries for 969 yards and nine touchdowns and added 470 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Free-agent defensive lineman Mike Pennel Jr. is a “person of interest” in connection with the death of a woman in the Dominican Republic, according to ESPN.
The woman, who was 22 at the time, was reported missing in 2021. Her body was found on property owned by Pennel in the Dominican Republic.
Pennel’s lawyer said Pennel didn’t know the woman and he wasn’t in the country when she disappeared. Pennel sent a text message to ESPN: “This isn’t a story. I’m not legally involved. This is fake news being reported. I’d advise you to speak with my agent/lawyer . . . before writing a false story. Damaging my reputation.”
Pennel had sold the property in 2025. A worker found the body while digging a trench in January.
Undrafted in 2014, Pennel has played for the Packers, Jets, Chiefs, Falcons, Bears, and Bengals. In 2025, he appeared in eight games with the Bengals and eight with the Chiefs. In 12 years, he has 154 regular-season appearances and 27 starts. He won a pair of Super Bowls with the Chiefs.
At the time the woman was reported missing, Pennel was between teams. He’d been released by the Bears on August 31; he signed with the Falcons on September 15.
For now, the report is that Pennel is a “person of interest,” not a suspect.
Garrett Nussmeier had to wait a while, way longer than he expected, to hear his name. Nine quarterbacks went before the LSU quarterback did.
The Chiefs finally ended his fall, picking him in the seventh round, making Nussmeier the 249th overall pick.
Nussmeier appeared emotional as he donned the Chiefs baseball cap and celebrated with his family, which included his father, Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.
Nussmeier joins Patrick Mahomes, Justin Fields, Chris Oladokun and Jake Haener on Kansas City’s roster at the position.
Nussmeier started 23 games in five seasons in Baton Rouge, going 15-8. He completed 64.0 percent of his passes for 7,699 yards with 52 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
The Chiefs went with defensive players with both of their first-round picks and they stayed on that side of the ball in the second round.
Defensive end R Mason Thomas is headed to the Chiefs with the 40th overall pick. Cornerback Mansoor Delane and defensive tackle Peter Woods were the selections on Thursday.
Thomas posted 26 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble return for a touchdown and a safety for Oklahoma last season.
George Karlaftis is the top returning edge rusher for the Chiefs and Thomas should have a path to early playing time if he shows the ability to get to the quarterback against NFL blockers.
The Chiefs anticipate unveiling renderings of their new $3 billion domed stadium later this summer, owner Clark Hunt said Friday.
The stadium will be built across the Kansas-Missouri state line and is scheduled to be completed in time for the start of the 2031 season. The Chiefs’ move came after Kansas lawmakers voted to allow the state to issue more than $2.4 million in bonds to cover about 60 percent of the cost of the stadium, a new training facility and retail and entertainment space.
“We’re making progress,” Hunt said, via the Associated Press. “We have a design competition that’s ongoing between MANICA and Populous, and I would hope in the next several months that we’d be able to make a decision on the lead architect.”
MANICA designed the new Nissan Stadium in Nashville and worked on Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Populous is finishing up at the new Highmark Stadium in Buffalo.
Hunt said the Chiefs will bid to host big events in the enclosed stadium.
“We plan on bidding for Final Fours, College Football Playoff Games, bowl games and, of course, the Super Bowl,” Hunt said. “It will coincide with the construction of several other NFL buildings, so we will have competition, but I will make sure that Kansas City and the Chiefs put their best foot forward in that process.”
Arrowhead Stadium will host six World Cup games this summer. It had to undergo minor renovations so that the 53-year-old facility could fit the size of the field used for one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
