The District Court of Johnson County, Kansas, has dismissed the case against Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt.
“The DA’s office looked at it a little more thoroughly and reviewed some additional information,” Merritt’s attorney, Ryan Ginie, told Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, “and agreed it was a matter that should be dismissed.”
Merritt was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery on April 22, accused of causing bodily harm to a daughter.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said last weekend that the team was waiting on the case to conclude.
“Dave’s been very up front with everything,” Reid said, via Ron Kopp of arrowheadpride.com. “We’re still going through that whole procedure. In this case, you always let the law enforcement part take care of itself and work its way out. And so that’s where we’re at right now, but we’re aware, and we’ve had communication with both sides there, with the law enforcement side and Dave.”
Merritt, 54, has served as the Chiefs’ defensive backs coach since 2019. He has previously held NFL coaching jobs with the Cardinals, Giants and Jets.
Chiefs Clips
The Bills spent some time with a potential addition to their defensive line recently.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that free agent defensive end Mike Danna visited the team. It’s the first reported visit for Danna since the Chiefs released him in February.
Danna was a 2020 fifth-round pick by Kansas City and he appeared in 87 regular season games for the team over that time. Danna had 194 tackles, 21.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and an interception in that action.
Danna also played 16 postseason games for the Chiefs, including four Super Bowls. He had 27 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble while winning a pair of Super Bowl rings.
Free-agent receiver Tyreek Hill’s current status is complicated primarily by his ongoing recovery from a serious knee injury suffered in September 2025. A pending Personal Conduct Policy investigation further clouds his NFL future.
The situation at the heart of the pending matter could cloud it even more.
TMZ reports that Hill’s estranged wife, Keeta, is attempting through the couple’s divorce action to secure evidence of past incidents of alleged domestic violence involving Hill. Among other things, she has targeted the 2019 incident that prompted a league investigation — and that resulted in Hill voluntarily staying away from the Chiefs’ offseason program.
In early 2019, Hill’s three-year-old son suffered a broken arm. The case was initially closed quickly. Later, it was reopened. In June 2019, Hill met with NFL investigators for eight hours.
Hill was not charged in the case, and the NFL did not suspend him. Keeta Hill wants evidence from both the authorities and from the NFL about the 2019 case.
Keeta Hill has made multiple allegations of domestic violence against Hill in the divorce action. The NFL has an open investigation against Hill regarding those claims.
When Travis Kelce signed a new contract with the Chiefs in early March, it put an end to league-wide speculation about whether he’d return for a 14th season.
It wasn’t quite as dramatic a moment for the Chiefs, however. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show this week, Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach discussed the timeline for Kelce’s decision and revealed that it was made a lot earlier than anyone outside the organization would have guessed.
“We played our last game of the season in Vegas last year, and when we got back we have player meetings and exit interviews,” Veach said. “It was a cool deal where Trav came in and he basically said ‘I’m going to take a few weeks off here, but I’m not going out like this, let’s stay in touch and let’s figure something out. . . . We certainly knew ahead of time. While free agency and there was still some questions in the air on whether or not he’d return, we knew basically the day after our last game. He made it known to coach Reid and to me that there was no way he was going out like this.”
Veach said he wasn’t going to speculate about whether this will be Kelce’s “last dance,” but said he thought being there as quarterback Patrick Mahomes rehabs from a torn ACL is important to Kelce and that the duo is motivated to make sure that last season is a blip in an otherwise wildly successful run in Kansas City.
Kurt Warner went from going undrafted to playing quarterback in the NFL and his son is trying to follow the same path.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that E.J. Warner has accepted an invitation to participate in the Broncos’ rookie minicamp as a tryout player this weekend. Warner was at the Chiefs’ minicamp last weekend for the same purpose.
Warner started 10 games at Fresno State last season and went 192-of-277 for 2,030 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was Rice’s starter for the 2024 season and spent two seasons as the starter at Temple to kick off his college time.
Warner’s father famously worked in a grocery store and played in the Arena League and NFL Europe before getting his chance to start for the Rams in 1999. He won the MVP and the Super Bowl that season, which makes for a tough act to repeat so his son will likely just be focused on earning a spot on a roster or practice squad to start his own career.
After agreeing to sign D.J. Reader, the Giants have also added another defensive tackle to their roster.
New York has claimed Zacch Pickens off of waivers, according to the league’s daily transaction wire.
The Chiefs let Pickens go on Monday.
Pickens, 26, appeared in three games for Kansas City last season. He recorded five total tackles.
A Bears third-round pick in 2023, Pickens appeared in 26 games for Chicago over his first two seasons. He’s recorded 44 total tackles with two tackles for loss, four QB hits, and 1.5 sacks in his career.
The Chiefs have signed a draft pick.
The NFL’s transaction report for Monday shows that the team signed running back Emmett Johnson. The fifth-round pick agreed to a four-year contract.
Johnson earned some praise from head coach Andy Reid for his work in last weekend’s rookie minicamp. Reid spoke highly of Johnson’s ability as a receiver and pass blocker while saying that the rookie has “a little bit” of LeSean McCoy to his game.
The Chiefs drafted Johnson after he spent the last four years at Nebraska. He led the top division of college football in all-purpose yards per game in 2025 while finishing fourth with 1,451 rushing yards.
Many were surprised when running back Kenneth Walker III left the Seahawks roughly a month after winning the Super Bowl LX MVP award. Walker was not.
Appearing on Monday’s #PFTPM, Walker said he knew during the 2025 season that he wouldn’t be re-signing with Seattle.
“I would say probably, if I’m being honest, probably like sometime during the season,” Walker said. “You know, things ain’t working out how I was expecting to, and that’s all right. It worked out for the team. So sometime during the season and then we get to free agency, pretty much knowing like you weren’t gonna be there no more.”
Whether it was the contract negotiations and/or the overall vibe he was getting, Walker knew it was going to end.
In Kansas City, Walker is just getting started, with a contract that pays out $27 million guaranteed over the first two years. And the magnitude of the deal sends a clear message. For that kind of investment, the Chiefs plan to use Walker extensively.
“The team appreciates me over here and, like, being able to come somewhere there where you’re appreciated,” Walker said. “I definitely feel like I’ll be getting the ball a lot, be making plays and, yeah, I’m excited for this season.”
Unlike the three other Super Bowl MVPs who promptly signed elsewhere in free agency (Larry Brown, Desmond Howard, and Dexter Jackson), Walker has landed with an elite team. A team that had a clear need at the running back position. A team that is retooling as it attempts to win its fourth Super Bowl since the 2019 season.
With a pair of 1,000-yard seasons despite not being the workhorse in the Seattle running game, Walker could be on the verge of doing a lot more in Kansas City. The contract amounts to a clear indication that the Chiefs believe that he can, and that he will.
Over the weekend, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid noted that quarterback Patrick Mahomes will likely be able to participate in OTAs in some capacity, despite tearing his ACL in December.
Kansas City General Manager Brett Veach also spoke over the weekend, noting just how much progress Mahomes has made in his recovery.
“I will say this, I think it wouldn’t surprise you guys, the way it’s been really inspiring to just see — in my mind, I’ve been there before with Pat, he had that dislocated knee [in 2019] and worked his tail off, and came back in three weeks. I knew this bump in the road wouldn’t slow him down at all,” Veach said in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio. “But, I mean, this guy has been in the building — especially for a player who has accomplished everything, can do anything he wants, he can hire his own trainers, he can be wherever he wants. He’s in our building every single day. And even when he goes away for a few days, say to Dallas for a weekend with his family, he takes one of our trainers with him.
“So, needless to say, he’s way ahead of schedule. I think the biggest challenge we’re going to have is protecting him against himself, because I’m sure when we get to St. Joseph, Missouri, for training camp, he’s going to want to be full go. But we’re going to have to hold him back a little. And, again, I don’t want to put a timetable on it. But I think you guys know the kind of person and competitor Pat is, and I would just say, we’re in a really good place right now.”
Reid had also noted that the Chiefs were thinking about Mahomes’ participation in the offseason work, effectively in case the team wanted to hold him back and put him on the physically unable to perform list to begin training camp. But with the way Veach described Mahomes’ progress in his rehab, it seems the quarterback will do everything he can to be on the field as a full participant in late July.
The Eagles are taking a look at a defensive player who would likely be a significant special teams contributor.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports on Monday that cornerback Nazeeh Johnson is visiting with Philadelphia on Monday.
Johnson, 27, was a Chiefs seventh-round pick in 2022. He has appeared in 29 career games with six starts in his career. A shoulder injury limited Johnson to just two games in 2025, and he played exclusively on special teams.
Back in 2024, Johnson was on the field for 48 percent of defensive snaps and 40 percent of special teams snaps in his 16 games played.
