Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season got underway on December 12 and there was a bunch of Kansas City Chiefs-related news on the league’s official transaction wire.
Within the KC organization, reserve tight end Gerritt Prince was placed on the practice squad/injured list while reserve linebacker Cole Christiansen was restored from the practice squad/injured list — per KSHB41 media member Nick Jacobs.
Christiansen suffered a hamstring injury against the New York Jets in Week 4 after being elevated twice early on. He did not record any statistics on 23 special teams snaps.
Recently cut Chiefs wide receiver prospect Chase Cota also signed with the Houston Texans practice squad after a little over two months inside the Kansas City organization.
We have signed Chase Cota to the practice squad and made another roster move.
Cota initially joined the Chiefs on September 26 after spending preseason with the Detroit Lions. He was later released on December 5 as KC elected to bring in more safety depth with Bryan Cook injured.
The undrafted rookie played collegiate ball at UCLA for four seasons before transferring to Oregon. He registered 103 catches for 1,380 yards and nine receiving touchdowns over that five-year span in the PAC-12, per Sports Reference CFB.
Ex-Chiefs RB Jerrion Ealy Gets Workout With Saints
The final Chiefs-related mention on the NFL transaction wire involved former KC running back Jerrion Ealy.
The Ole Miss product was named in a string of RB workouts with the New Orleans Saints (via NFL insider Aaron Wilson). It appears NOLA went with veteran James Robinson over Ealy, but it is nice to see the former Chiefs UDFA getting some looks.
Ealy was signed and released several times with KC in 2022, going back to May of last year. Initially labeled as a potential “ace in the hole” on special teams because of his ability as a returner, the youngster gained some popularity within the fanbase.
Unfortunately, a PED suspension derailed Ealy’s rookie campaign, costing him six weeks of practice inside Andy Reid and Dave Toub’s system.
The Chiefs still shuffled the running back in and out of the organization one or two times after that and he even stuck with Kansas City for 2023 training camp, but he never factored in a regular season game. He’s been a free agent since August 29 of this year.
Chiefs LB Core Regaining Health After Rash of Injuries
A couple of weeks ago, the Chiefs were down to Jack Cochrane at middle linebacker with both Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill sidelined with injuries. The aforementioned Christiansen was also unavailable at the time, leaving just Darius Harris and rookie Cam Jones behind a starting trio of Willie Gay Jr., Leo Chenal and Cochrane.
Fortunately, this unit appears to be getting healthier by the day in Week 15.
Bolton returned ahead of the Buffalo Bills matchup in Week 14 and Tranquill (concussion) shouldn’t be too far behind him. Christiansen is also back on the practice squad — for depth purposes — making this one of the strongest areas of the roster once again.
Having said that, with health, a tough decision will most likely come for Reid and his staff. Once Tranquill returns, the Chiefs will have seven linebackers on the active roster. That’s well above league average and a bit excessive for a defense that utilizes two-to-three players at the position most games — not counting special teams.
Harris is the likely odd man out. If Kansas City does release the veteran, they could try to sneak him back onto the practice squad as they’ve done in the past.
Another option is Jones, an undrafted rookie out of Indiana. That feels improbable, however, being that Jones has appeared in all 13 games this season on special teams.
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