The Kansas City Chiefs have some open spots on the 53-man roster and they’re filling at least one of those spots ahead of their Week 15 game against Los Angeles Chargers on “Thursday Night Football.”
According to his agent, GSE Worldwide’s David Canter, the Chiefs are set to sign DB Zayne Anderson to their active roster from the practice squad. A rookie undrafted free agent out of BYU, Anderson spent the offseason with Kansas City, but he didn’t make the final 53-man roster cuts. Anderson has since spent the entire 2021 NFL season on the practice squad for the Chiefs.
A hybrid linebacker and safety with the Cougars in college, he’s taken on a more traditional defensive back role with Kansas City. He recorded 11 total tackles in the preseason playing on both defense and special teams.
Congratulations to @gsefootball client @zayneanderson23 on being signed to the active roster of @Chiefs pic.twitter.com/f85D21zBdl
— David Canter (@davidcanter) December 14, 2021
The rookie defensive back has become a bit of an understudy of Chiefs DB Daniel Sorensen, who shares the same alma mater with Anderson.
“I know Zayne (Anderson) obviously from BYU and training there in the summers and whatnot,” Sorensen told reporters in late July. “So he’ll come to me and ask me questions. I love giving advice and experience, passing it along to the next guy, everything that I’ve learned, and the experiences I’ve had, which is a lot. And just trying to coach him up when he runs into something that he’s struggling with or needs some guidance. I’ve been trying to help him in that.”
There should be some cause for concern surrounding Anderson’s signing. He was a standard elevation on the 53-man roster back in Week 1 when Tyrann Mathieu was absent due to COVID-19. Anderson only played special teams snaps during that game, with seven snaps on the day. The reason for concern would be Mathieu showing up on the Chiefs’ Monday injury report as a non-participant in practice for non-injury-related reasons. It could be nothing as the injury report was only in estimation, but it’s certainly worth monitoring.
Beyond that potential concern, this could prove to be a chance for Kansas City to get a closer look at Anderson. They can see how he performs while on the 53-man roster, which could help determine his future with the team and how they address the safety position in the 2022 NFL draft.
Expect an official transaction for Anderson to come on Tuesday’s personnel notice from the league office.
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