The Kansas City Chiefs have protected a pair of players on the practice squad ahead of their Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills.
Kansas City protected QB Shane Buechele and DE Demone Harris according to the NFL’s personnel notice for Tuesday. This marks the second time that the Chiefs have used practice squad protections this season.
Teams are permitted to protect as many as four players on the practice squad each week per NFL rules. Players who are not protected can leave the team to sign to another team’s active roster. Those who are protected are not permitted to sign with other teams.
Harris is going on his second consecutive week of being protected by Kansas City. The Chiefs are still dealing with some injury issues at the defensive end position. Joshua Kaindoh’s ankle injury saw him placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. Chris Jones is still dealing with a nagging wrist injury and then there’s the hamstring injury that has kept Frank Clark out the past two weeks.
It’s best to have a player protected in the event the Chiefs need to elevate someone for Sunday night. Harris has been with the Chiefs since 2019 and knows the system well, so he should be able to jump right in and contribute should he be needed.
The other practice squad protection is a bit surprising for Kansas City. The team opted to protect Buechele, with no other moves made at the quarterback position. This could suggest that a team was sniffing around the Chiefs’ undrafted rookie quarterback looking to poach him off of the practice squad in Kansas City. It could also suggest that something hasn’t yet been revealed by the team. It’s possible that a quarterback is dealing with an injury or sickness and the team wants to be prepared should their condition worsen.
We’ll keep you posted on any developments in that regard.
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