The Kansas City Chiefs lost some veteran depth on November 5, as KPRC 2 NFL insider Aaron Wilson relayed news of a bye week practice squad poaching by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“[The] Steelers [are] signing Brodric Martin off [the] Chiefs practice squad, per a league source,” Wilson reported on Wednesday afternoon.
Needless to say, this is less than ideal, considering the defensive tackle position is one of Kansas City’s top areas of need as they enter the final stretch of the 2025 season coming out of the bye week.
Martin signed with the KC practice squad after the 53-man cutdown. He’s a former third-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions who was brought in to bulk up the reserve unit in the trenches.
Entering Week 10, the Chiefs only spent one of Martin’s three potential practice squad elevations, so they could have called upon him again without signing him to the active roster.
Unfortunately, the Steelers took that possibility away from the Chiefs when they poached him on November 5.
Chiefs Choose Not to Block Steelers After Poaching News
GettyPittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin with Kansas City Chiefs counterpart Andy Reid.
Anytime another NFL franchise poaches a player from a team’s practice squad, like in the case of Martin, the player’s original team has the right to block the move by offering the target a spot on their 53-man roster.
Clearly, the Chiefs chose not to offer Martin that 53-man role. And this is no surprise.
Although Kansas City’s defensive tackle depth is shaky at best, they did just sign veteran nose tackle Mike Pennel. With Pennel on the active roster, there’s really no space for Martin, and the Chiefs aren’t going to go reorganizing their 53-man unit just to retain a practice squad player.
If KC really saw something in Martin, they would have acted. But since they didn’t, it’s safe to say that they aren’t too broken up about the news of the Steelers’ actions.
General manager Brett Veach will likely wish Martin the best and get back to work on finding more serviceable defensive tackle depth.
Brodric Martin Poaching Not Official Yet?
There was an update from a Steelers beat reporter later on, during the evening of November 5.
The Athletic’s Pittsburgh correspondent Mike DeFabo relayed the following on X: “The Steelers are planning to sign DT Brodric Martin off the Chiefs’ practice squad, per league source. Pittsburgh has endured numerous injuries up front, including to Daniel Ekuale and Dean Lowry. Martin will have to spend a minimum of 3 weeks on the active roster.”
So, while DeFabo is all but confirming that this transaction will happen. He’s also implying that it is not official just yet, whereas Wilson reported that it was.
This update jives with the official daily transaction notice sent out by the NFL on November 5, which did not list the Martin poaching.
However, assuming everything goes as expected, this move will likely occur on November 6.
As DeFabo noted, the Steelers will be required to keep Martin on their 53-man roster for a “minimum of three weeks” after carrying out this maneuver. Which means Martin should earn himself a few extra game checks upon heading from KC to Pittsburgh.
Chiefs Lose Third-Round Talent at Area of Need After AFC Poaching: Report