Getty Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Corey Coleman during the 2022 preseason.
The Kansas City Chiefs had a busy Tuesday afternoon ahead of their Thursday night matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Earlier in the day on September 13, it was reported that the Chiefs would be signing kicker Matt Ammendola to the practice squad but the corresponding transaction was unclear at the time. It turns out that there were a whole bunch of moves to announce just after 2:30 p.m. CST, which explains the initial delay.
The roster shuffle centered around the unfortunate news that cornerback Trent McDuffie would be headed to the injured reserve for a minimum stay of four weeks. From there, two more signings were revealed, as well as two promotions and one cut.
Chiefs Re-Sign WR Corey Coleman, Activate 2 Reserve LBs
The Chiefs Twitter account shared the full list of roster moves.
We have activated Practice Squad players LB Jack Cochrane & LB Elijah Lee.
We have signed K Matt Ammendola, CB Dicaprio Bootle, & WR Corey Coleman to the Practice Squad.
We have placed CB Trent McDuffie on Reserve/Injured.
We released S James Wiggins from the practice squad.
“We have activated Practice Squad players LB Jack Cochrane & LB Elijah Lee,” they informed. “We have signed K Matt Ammendola, CB Dicaprio Bootle, & WR Corey Coleman to the Practice Squad. We have placed CB Trent McDuffie on Reserve/Injured. We released S James Wiggins from the practice squad.”
A lot to digest! But we’ll break down the new pieces of information starting with promotions Lee and Cochrane.
Kansas City has been rolling with 52 men on the active roster for some time and today general manager Brett Veach finally rounded things out. Lee was the expected activation from the start — he was even elevated for Week 1 alongside WR Daurice Fountain.
Some expected the 2022 acquisition to get first-team snaps as the strong-side linebacker next to Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr. but in his debut, Lee was out-snapped by both Darius Harris and Leo Chenal. It’s fair to mention that none of the three LBs played very much on defense, totaling 33 snaps combined.
Harris led the group with 15 while Lee was only given eight. He didn’t have a great showing when he was on the field according to Pro Football Focus, with one missed tackle and one reception allowed off one target for 22 yards.
Cochrane is an undrafted rookie who flashed during training camp. It is curious that the Chiefs elected to activate two linebackers — giving them six on the roster — although both players could be getting the call because of their ability on special teams.
More notable was the Coleman reunion to the practice squad. A contingent of Chiefs Kingdom was high on the former first-round talent this summer and now he’ll rejoin the organization as a reserve.
KC went light at the wide receiver position during the cutdown and lost a veteran like Josh Gordon in the process, so it’s good to replenish some of that depth with Fountain, Coleman and Cornell Powell all back with the franchise.
The other returnee was cornerback Dicaprio Bootle, a staff favorite that has seesawed on and off the Chiefs roster since 2021. With McDuffie sidelined, the former UDFA will serve as an emergency option that is familiar with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his system.
James ‘The Freak’ Wiggins Is Released
When Kansas City signed Wiggins ahead of their Week 1 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals, the first thought was that the ex-Cards safety could just serve as a playbook spy for head coach Andy Reid.
Whether that’s 100% accurate or not is unclear but based on his Week 2 release, it’s probably not far off from the truth.
Nicknamed “The Freak” at Cincinnati, the ultra-athletic seventh-round pick has been marred by knee injuries both at the collegiate and NFL levels. His opportunity with the Chiefs was brief — if he ever truly had one — and now he’ll look to continue his football journey elsewhere.
Follow these links for more information on the Ammendola signing and the McDuffie injury designation.