The first divisional-round playoff game on Sunday is between the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams have former Arizona Cardinals players on their rosters.
Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu
Cardinals fans will remember Mathieu, as he was one of the more popular players when he was with the team. He was drafted by Arizona in the third round in 2013. He played five seasons and had two major knee injuries. He also was given a huge contract extension. But after 2017, he was asked to take a paycut and he was not willing. He was cut for salary cap purposes and played one season with the Houston Texans before signing a multi-year deal with the Chiefs.
He was fantastic in 2019. He had 75 tackles, two sacks, four interceptions and 12 pass breakups.
Chiefs FB Anthony Sherman
Sherman was drafted by the Cardinals in 2011. He was traded to the Chiefs in 2013 after Bruce Arians was hired. He doesn’t use fullbacks.
Sherman has played in every game since then for the Chiefs. He was a Pro Bowler in 2018.
Chiefs DE Terrell Suggs
Suggs played 13 games this season with the Cardinals after signing as a free agent. However, after his production dropped and his playing time was also going to decrease, he was released and signed with the Chiefs. He gets one more playoff run.
Chiefs DT Xavier Williams
Williams was an undrafted rookie who made the Cardinals’ roster in 2015 and played three seasons. He then signed with the Chiefs and has been with them for two years. He only played in five games this season because of injuries and is expected to play after getting activated from IR.
Chiefs DE Alex Okafor
Okafor was drafted by the Cardinals in the fourth round in 2013 and played four seasons in Arizona. He played two more for the New Orleans Saints and signed with the Chiefs in 2019. He played in 10 games and had five sacks and then landed on injured reserve with a torn pectoral. He is still on injured reserve.
Texans TE Darren Fells
Fells played three seasons for the Cardinals after playing professional basketball. He has bounced around for three seasons with three different teams but has been productive. For the Texans, he caught 34 passes for 341 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 starts.
Texans G Senio Kelemete
The Cardinals drafted Kelemete in the fifth round in 2012 and he stuck with the team only one season. He famously had a 10-yard reception in the Cardinals’ 58-0 loss to the Seahawks off a tipped pass. He started 14 games in 2018 for the Texans but in 2019 started once and got hurt. He is on injured reserve.
Texans S Jonathan Owens
Owens was an undrafted rookie in 2018 for the Cardinals who got hurt and landed on injured reserve. He played well in training camp this year but was cut before joining the Texans. He is on their practice squad.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 255
Ep. 254
