Aface from the New England Patriots’ 2025 practice squad has found a new home with one of the AFC’s perennial contenders.
The Kansas City Chiefs are signing tight end Thomas Odukoya to their practice squad after a successful workout, KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson reported on Sept. 5.
Kansas City also listed the move on its official transactions page, noting that Odukoya joined through the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.
Odukoya spent part of last season in New England after the Patriots signed him to the practice squad on Oct. 16, 2025. His stay ended with an undisclosed injury and, eventually, an offseason release, but the 6-foot-6 tight end has now worked his way back onto an NFL roster.
Odukoya Reunited With Mike Vrabel in New England
Odukoya’s brief Patriots tenure had a familiar connection.
He originally entered the NFL with the Tennessee Titans in 2022 through the International Player Pathway program, spending his first two seasons on the practice squad. Mike Vrabel was Tennessee’s head coach for both of those seasons.
After the Titans released Odukoya in October 2025, Vrabel and the Patriots brought him to Foxborough two days later. New England’s announcement listed him at 6-foot-6 and 253 pounds and noted that he had appeared in three games for Tennessee in 2024 without recording a statistic.
Odukoya didn’t get into a regular-season game for New England. The Patriots placed him on practice-squad injured reserve on Dec. 22, and team transaction records show he was released April 28.
His time away from the league didn’t end his NFL pursuit. Odukoya worked out for the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 18 before Kansas City brought him in for an audition in early September.
That audition produced a contract.
Kansas City confirmed Odukoya’s addition as an international pathway practice-squad player, giving the 29-year-old a chance to carve out a role after four years spent mostly developing behind the scenes.
Odukoya Has Taken Unusual Route to NFL
Odukoya’s path to Kansas City began far from an NFL facility.
Born and raised in Almere, Netherlands, he started playing American football at 16. He was named Dutch National MVP before eventually moving to the United States.
Then, he spent one season at West Hills-Coalinga College and then transferred to Eastern Michigan.
Across 40 games for the Eagles, Odukoya caught 21 passes for 194 yards and four touchdowns. He produced his best college season in 2021 with 13 receptions for 130 yards and two scores, earning third-team All-MAC honors.
The Titans added him in May 2022 as one of four AFC South players brought in through the International Player Pathway program. The league initiative was created to give international athletes a clearer route into the NFL, and Odukoya became one of the program’s players to reach an active roster.
His NFL game experience remains limited. Odukoya appeared in three games for Tennessee during the 2024 season and has yet to record a reception.
Kansas City is betting on the developmental traits that have kept him around the league for several years. At 6-foot-6 and 253 pounds, Odukoya offers size at tight end and extensive experience learning NFL systems.
All in all, his signing represents a former Vrabel developmental project landing elsewhere.
And for Odukoya, it’s another crack at extending his NFL journey, one that has stretched across two countries, three franchises and five seasons.
Former Patriots 6-Foot-6 TE from Netherlands Signs With Chiefs Before NFL Opener