The Kansas City Chiefs had the day off from practice on Friday, but the front office and coaching staff kept busy.
They will return to the practice field Monday and begin ramping up to host the Denver Broncos in the Week 1 season opener. For now, however, the Chiefs are still fine-tuning their roster and practice squad.
Kansas City Chiefs Waive QB Chris Oladokun, OL C.J. Hanson, RB E.J. Smith
According to a report from NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the Chiefs reached injury settlements and waived Okladokun, Hanson, and Smith. That means instead of those players going on Kansas City’s reserve/injured list, their contracts are terminated and they become free agents at the end of the settlement period.
Oladokun is the notable name of the three. Originally entering the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022, Oladokun signed with the Chiefs just before the start of that season. He has spent each year on Kansas City’s practice squad ever since. In 2024 he made his regular season debut, taking five snaps against the Broncos.
With Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew both injured, Oladokun got his first career start against the Broncos on Christmas Night in 2025. He performed admirably against a good Denver defense, completing 13 of 22 passes and one touchdown. Oladokun also started the season finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
When the Chiefs drafted Garrett Nussmeier this past spring, the writing was on the wall for Oladokun’s time to come to an end with the team. Nussmeier had an impressive training camp and preseason, and Kansas City signed Justin Fields to be the No. 2 QB during the offseason. Oladokun won two Super Bowl rings during his tenure with the Chiefs.
Chiefs Also Held Several Tryouts on Friday
Here is the list of players that Kansas City brought in for tryouts on Friday.
- TE Rivaldo Fairweather
- TE Cody Hardy
- TE Tre’ McKitty
- TE Tyler Moore
- TE Thomas Odukoya
- WR Cameron Ross
- WR Xavier Gipson
- DT Jay Toiia
- DB Larry Worth
- LB Taureen Yor
We already knew about Ross, who has special teams potential and can provide the Chiefs with some intel on the Broncos. Another name that jumps out off that list is Gipson, who was one of the stars of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” with the New York Jets back in 2023. Gipson returned a punt 65 yards in overtime of Week 1 to score the game-winning touchdown that season.
Another thing that’s apparent looking at that list is that Kansas City is looking for additional tight end help. That makes sense given that Travis Kelce is playing his career by ear at this point, and backup Noah Gray could be a cut candidate next offseason. Jared Wiley and Jake Briningstool have little NFL experience and are still relative unknowns.
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