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The Kansas City Chiefs lost their waiver claim over the weekend for a player with local ties.
The player was tight end Kendall Blanton, who was claimed by the Washington Commanders, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. The Commanders have a higher waiver priority than the Chiefs, which is why they won the claim for Blanton.
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Some within Chiefs Kingdom might know Blanton because of his connection to the state of Missouri. He played high school football at Blue Springs South and played college football at Missouri.
During his senior at Missouri in 2018, Blanton recorded 22 catches for 77 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, according to Sports Reference. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and joined the Los Angeles Rams practice squad that year. Blanton was active for one game during the 2019 season.
Blanton was waived by Los Angeles in September of 2020 but re-joined the team in September of 2021 as a practice squad player. He did, however, play in 11 games last season for the reigning Super Bowl champions, per Pro Football Reference.
Could Chiefs Be Hinting at Lengthy Absence for Blake Bell?
The waiver claim for Blanton by Kansas City is odd considering that they already have six tight ends on the roster (Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Blake Bell, Jody Fortson, Jordan Franks, and Matt Bushman). But the Chiefs might be hinting at a lengthy absence for Bell.
Bell suffered a hip flexor injury during Kansas City’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears, and has not practiced since then nor did he play in the team’s preseason game against the Commanders. Head coach Andy Reid detailed Bell’s injury as “unusual,” but did not provide further context to that.
While the Chiefs putting a claim in for Blanton doesn’t definitively mean Bell will be sidelined for a lengthy amount of time, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for Kansas City to sign a seventh tight end unless one of the tight ends on the roster will no longer be on the roster soon.
Andy Reid Provides Update on CB Rashad Fenton’s Injury
The Chiefs’ first-team defense suffered an injury in Week 2 of the preseason against the Washington Commanders.
Early in the second quarter, Chiefs cornerback Rashad Fenton was injured after a 15-yard completion from Commanders QB Carson Wentz to tight end Armani Rodgers.
After going to the blue medical tent, Fenton worked his way to the locker room.
A few minutes later, Fenton was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a groin injury.
After the game, head coach Andy Reid said Fenton’s groin “tightened up on him,” but didn’t seem to be a pull, according to Jordan Foote of Arrowhead Report. That’s great news for Fenton, a projected starter in Kansas City’s secondary, as a groin pull could have kept him sidelined for several weeks.
The Chiefs have a short week of preparation ahead of their Thursday night preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers on August 25. So, Monday’s practice will be our first opportunity to see if Fenton is healthy enough to practice or if he’ll miss some practice time and potentially the preseason finale.
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- Andy Reid Provides Update on CB Rashad Fenton’s Injury vs. Commanders
