The Kansas City Chiefs have released four players from injured reserve with injury settlements according to the NFL’s official transaction report.
WR Antonio Callaway, WR Chad Williams and TE Evan Baylis were all waived with injury designations during the Chiefs’ first round of roster cuts. They all cleared waivers and as a result, reverted to injured reserve. RB Elijah McGuire was placed on injured reserve outright during the first wave of roster cuts.
All four players reached injury settlements with the Chiefs on Thursday, taking a payout instead of staying on injured reserve. Williams and McGuire are vested, meaning they hit free agency immediately. Callaway and Baylis will need to clear waivers before they’re able to sign with another NFL club.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that this is the last we’ll see of these players in Kansas City, though. When you agree to an injury settlement you can still re-sign with that team, but only after the period of time covered by the settlement, plus six weeks. For example, if the settlement between the Chiefs and Antonio Callaway pays him two game checks, he can re-sign after eight weeks.
This happened with the Chiefs and WR Gehrig Dieter last season. The veteran wideout took an injury settlement due to a back injury and later rejoined the team, signing with the practice squad during the regular season. He was eventually elevated to the 53-man roster too.
Now, there’s no telling if Brett Veach intends to bring any of these players back. If they remain free agents and at any point in the season it makes sense to bring them back, expect Kansas City to do so.
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