The Kansas City Chiefs are collecting tight ends this season.
After LB Christian Rozeboom was poached by the Los Angeles Rams, the Chiefs had a free spot on the practice squad. According to the NFL’s official personnel notice for Wednesday, that spot on the practice squad will go to TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart.
Griffin-Stewart will be the second TE to join the practice squad and the sixth TE on the team in general, seventh if you include injured reserve. Griffin-Stewart joins Mark Vital on the practice squad and a TE room that features Travis Kelce, Blake Bell, Noah Gray and recent trade acquisition Daniel Brown.
Griffin-Stewart originally signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2020. He was released ahead of 53-man roster cuts and spent the entire 2020 season on the practice squad with the Green Bay Packers. He spent time on the 90-man roster with the New York Giants this past offseason, but he didn’t make the team there either. He hasn’t played in an NFL regular-season game yet and I’m not sure if he’s any closer to that by joining this team.
Listed at 6-5, 260 pounds, Griffin-Stewart has the size to be an above-the-rim catcher and a powerful in-line blocker. The Chiefs are clearly looking to bolster this position after they lost a talent like Jody Fortson for the season with an Achilles injury. Blake Bell has already missed a game this season with a back injury and Travis Kelce has been battling a neck injury for a few weeks now. It makes sense that the team would prepare for potential attrition as we get into the second half of the season.
