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Following the roster cutdown deadline on August 30, NFL teams are beginning to piece together their 16-player practice squad. And the Kansas City Chiefs headlined their practice squad choices with a former first-round pick.
The Chiefs have re-signed veteran defensive tackle Danny Shelton to their practice squad, according to Nate Taylor of the Athletic on August 31.
Shelton, 28, entered the league as a first-round draft pick — 12th overall — of the Cleveland Browns in 2015. After three seasons in Cleveland, Shelton spent three seasons with the New England Patriots, one with the Detroit Lions, and last season with the New York Giants.
During his seven-year career, Shelton has accumulated 138 tackles and 17 tackles for loss in 100 regular season games played, according to Pro Football Reference.
Standing at 6-foot-2 and weighing approximately 350 pounds, Shelton does his damage on the field as a run defender. While his services weren’t deemed important enough to merit a spot initially on the 53-player roster, Kansas City has brought him back via the practice squad, which could lead to a promotion to the active roster at any time.
Chiefs Re-Sign Rookie Draft Pick
The Chiefs started off the practice squad frenzy by welcoming back one of their rookie draft picks. The defending AFC West champions re-signed rookie safety Nazeeh Johnson to their practice squad, according to Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star on August 31.
Johnson was the final draft pick (7th Round, No. 259 overall) of the Chiefs this year. Coming into the NFL as a safety out of Marshall, Johnson played all of his defensive snaps for Kansas City this summer as a cornerback, per PFF.
The Chiefs have confidence in their young corners, which is why they parted ways with Deandre Baker and Lonnie Johnson Jr. well before the roster cutdown deadline. Unfortunately, the young corners that have impressed this summer are first-round pick Trent McDuffie, fourth-round pick Joshua Williams, and seventh-round pick Jaylen Watson, but not Johnson.
Johnson failed to stand out during training camp and the preseason, which is why he wasn’t one of the six cornerbacks the defending AFC champions kept on their 53-player roster.
Chiefs Welcome Back WR Daurice Fountain
The Chiefs also welcomed back wide receiver Daurice Fountain to the practice squad, according to Teope.
The expectation was that Fountain would be the sixth receiver on the Chiefs’ 53-player roster, with the other receivers making the cut being JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, rookie Skyy Moore, and Justin Watson. Fountain was expected to keep a roster spot because of his familiarity with the system (joined KC in May of 2021) and abilities on special teams.
However, that didn’t end up being the case. Instead, Fountain was cut ahead of the 4 p.m. Eastern Time deadline on Tuesday.
Because he was cut and not waived, Fountain became a free agent following his release from the Chiefs, which allowed him to choose his next destination. Fountain decided to rejoin Kansas City’s practice squad for a second consecutive season.
Other Practice Squad Additions:
Here are the other players that have also been added to Kansas City’s 16-player practice squad thus far:
- OL Mike Caliendo
- TE Jordan Franks
- QB Chris Oladokum
- OL Austin Reiter
- LB Jack Cochrane
- WR Cornell Powell
- DT Taylor Stallworth
- DE Azur Kamara
- RB Jerrion Ealy
- S Zayne Anderson
- LB Elijah Lee
This section of the article will be updated once more practice squad signings are announced.
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