Chiefs waive LB Emmanuel Smith from IR with injury settlement

Smith was placed on injured reserve on August 28.

The Kansas City Chiefs made a single transaction on Friday, the eve of the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline.

According to the NFL’s transaction report, the Chiefs have waived LB Emmanuel Smith from their injured reserve list with an injury settlement. Smith was first waived with an injury designation from the 80-man offseason roster on Aug. 27. He’d been dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice. That transaction made way for veteran free agent C Daniel Kilgore. On Aug. 28, Smith cleared waivers and reverted to injured reserve.

Smith first joined the Chiefs as a practice squad addition at the onset of the 2019 season. He spent the entire season on the Chiefs’ practice squad, including through Super Bowl LIV. He was one of the members of the team to receive a Super Bowl ring during the ceremony over the weekend.

Now that the Chiefs have waived Smith from injured reserve, he’ll be subject to waivers. If he clears waivers he’ll be free to sign with any team. Ultimately, this transaction does nothing to help the Chiefs get any closer to 53 players on the roster. That means the team will have to make all of the necessary roster moves to get down from 80 players tomorrow ahead of the 3:00 p.m. CT deadline.

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