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.
Chiefs Clips
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.
Quarterback Jake Haener’s time in Kansas City has come to an end.
The Chiefs announced that they have waived Haener on Monday. Haener signed a future deal with the team in February.
Haener was a 2023 fourth-round pick of the Saints and he appeared in eight games with the team in 2024. He made one start and went 18-of-39 for 226 yards, a touchdown and an interception over his entire run in New Orleans.
Patrick Mahomes, Justin Fields, Chris Oladokun, and seventh-round pick Garrett Nussmeier are the remaining Chiefs quarterbacks.
The Chiefs also announced that they have signed wide receiver Xavier Loyd, defensive back Marlen Sewell, and offensive tackle Kahlil Benson after they tried out for the team at their rookie minicamp. Defensive linemen Ethan Hurkett, and Zacch Pickens were waived along with Haener.
The Chiefs focused on defense early in this year’s draft, but they may have uncovered an offensive contributor in the later rounds.
Fifth-round running back Emmett Johnson caught the eye of head coach Andy Reid at the team’s rookie minicamp over the weekend. Reid said he thinks Johnson can be an immediate contributor on special teams and that he’s showing signs that he may be able to add to the offense in a way that reminds viewers of a player who starred for Reid with the Eagles.
“He’s got a good feel for things,” Reid said. “A smart kid, a good kid. He’s got that lateral quickness. We had LeSean McCoy here for a bit and he has a little bit of that to him, where he can shift gears and still get himself up the field quickly. I like the way he pass protects, I like the way he catches the football, and it looks like he can do that here. We’re not doing live stuff, but the catching part he does easy. . . . It’s important in this offense that you’re able to catch the ball. You got to be able to block, and he showed that. At the same time, you have to be able to run the ball. The more you can do, we’ll utilize you in those areas and it puts pressure on the defense.”
There’s a big difference between a non-contact rookie minicamp and NFL action, but the path to playing time starts there and Johnson putting those kinds of thoughts in Reid’s head should only help him when it comes time to compete with Kenneth Walker, Emari Demercado and Brashard Smith for a role in Kansas City’s backfield.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid shared a positive update about quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s recovery from his torn ACL on Saturday.
Mahomes has progressed to throwing the ball after being injured last December and Reid said that the quarterback “is in a good position to be able to do some things” during the team’s offseason program. The Chiefs move into the final phase of their work on May 26 and Reid said the team will be careful to make sure Mahomes continues to improve before making any final decisions.
“Once you start the clock, then the clock’s got to be rolling,” Reid said, via Pete Sweeney of the Kansas City Star. “You just have to evaluate what you want to do there. But he’s in a position where he can do everything, I think.”
If Mahomes avoids landing on the physically unable to perform at the start of training camp, it would be a good sign for his chances of being in the lineup when the Chiefs take the field in Week 1 of the regular season.
The Chiefs have declined the fifth-year option on the contract of defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, according to the NFL’s personnel notice.
It was expected, as the option would have fully guaranteed Anudike-Uzomah $14.5 million for 2027. He is one of nine players to have his fifth-year option declined this year.
Anudike-Uzomah has started only three games since the Chiefs made him the 31st overall pick, and he missed all of last season with a right hamstring injury.
Anudike-Uzomah has appeared in 34 games, with three starts, totaling eight tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Anudike-Uzomah, 24, has played 550 defensive snaps.
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.
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.
