Tag: Armani Watts

Colts sign S Armani Watts: 3 things to know

Here are three things to know about new Colts safety Armani Watts.

The Indianapolis Colts finally added some depth to the safety room by signing former Kansas City Chiefs safety Armani Watts to a one-year deal on Tuesday.

Given that Khari Willis is the only healthy player currently making up the safety room, this was the type of move that was needed. Adding depth to the safety room was a massive need after the first few weeks of free agency.

Here are three things to know about the Colts’ new safety:

Colts sign former Chiefs S Armani Watts

The Colts are signing former Chiefs S Armani Watts.

The Indianapolis Colts signed former Kansas City Chiefs safety Armani Watts, the team announced Tuesday.

While this isn’t the name of the former Chiefs safety that many fans wanted to hear, Watts will be joining a safety room that desperately needed depth added.

Watts, 26, was a fourth-round pick with the Chiefs in the 2018 NFL draft. He has appeared in 53 career games but has made only one start so we should expect him to be a contributor on special teams while working into the rotation.

The Texas A&M product has never played more than 101 defensive snaps in a single season but has recorded 66%, 81% and 71% of the Chiefs special teams snaps.

This seems like the move that will be replacing George Odum, who signed with the San Francisco 49ers.

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Colts to sign former Chiefs S Armani Watts

After spending the first four seasons of his career with the #Chiefs, Armani Watts is taking his talents to Indianapolis to play for the #Colts.

The Kansas City Chiefs have lost a 2018 fourth-round draft pick in free agency.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay announced on Twitter that the team had signed former Chiefs safety Armani Watts. A fourth-round draft pick out of Texas A&M in 2018, Watts was a key special teamer and reservist for the team during his four seasons in Kansas City.

Appearing in 53 games with one start, Watts amassed 58 total tackles, two passes defended, two sacks and a fumble recovery during the course of his career. He played nearly 1,000 snaps on special teams with the Chiefs compared to just 282 defensive snaps over four seasons. Watts earned a Super Bowl ring with K.C. in Super Bowl LIV and he also played in Super Bowl LV the following season.

Colts GM Chris Ballard was Director of Football Operations in Kansas City in 2015 and 2016 before joining Indianapolis as GM in 2017. He’s often taken an interest in former Chiefs players, mainly because he’s cut from the same cloth as John Dorsey and Brett Veach.

Watts never really got much of a chance to earn a starting job in Kansas City. He’ll be competing with guys like Will Redmond and Marvel Tell III for the No. 3 safety gig with the Colts behind guys like Julian Blackmon and Khari Willis.

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Chiefs activate 4 players from Reserve/COVID-19 list

The #Chiefs have officially activated Harrison Butker, Tommy Townsend, Rashad Fenton and Armani Watts from the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid told reporters that every player from the 53-man roster who was on the Reserve/COVID-19 list returned to practice on Wednesday. Now, we have some confirmation that he wasn’t exaggerating.

According to the NFL’s official personnel notice for Wednesday, the team activated K Harrison Butker, P Tommy Townsend, CB Rashad Fenton and DB Armani Watts from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. The team also restored LB Darius Harris to the practice squad from the practice squad COVID-19 list. A lot of these players were able to be activated with the NFL adopting new COVID isolation rules based on updated CDC guidelines.

By our count, the only remaining Chiefs player on the Reserve/COVID-19 list is Mike Remmers, who is also on injured reserve due to a knee injury. Even with Remmers remaining on the list, they’re now in a much better place than they were just a week ago, with COVID running rampant through the roster.

The team did not need to activate TE Travis Kelce from the Reserve/COVID-19 list today because they already had ahead of the Week 16 game against the Steelers. He did, however, clear COVID protocols and return to practice on Wednesday. Here’s some photographic evidence shared by our friend Harold R. Kuntz at Fox 4 Kansas City:

Kelce and all the other returning players are considered all systems go for Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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4 more Chiefs players placed on Reserve/COVID-19 list

The #Chiefs have even more COVID issues, with a total of seven players being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday.

The Kansas City Chiefs placed a total of seven players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday.

News broke early that the Chiefs had placed WR Tyreek Hill, TE Blake Bell and CB Rashad Fenton on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. According to the NFL’s official personnel notice, four more players will join them. That group includes rookie LB Nick Bolton, RT Lucas Niang, DB Armani Watts and OL Kyle Long.

In total, the Chiefs currently have 14 players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, including one practice squad player. Here is the full list of players currently on the Reserve/COVID-19 list:

  • WR Josh Gordon
  • DL Chris Jones
  • LB Willie Gay Jr.
  • WR Gehrig Dieter
  • CB Charvarius Ward
  • TE Travis Kelce
  • K Harrison Butker
  • WR Tyreek Hill
  • TE Blake Bell
  • CB Rashad Fenton
  • LB Nick Bolton
  • RT Lucas Niang
  • DB Armani Watts
  • OL Kyle Long

That group includes seven players who are considered starters by the team on either offense and defense. It also includes several key depth players. This is the most players that the Chiefs have placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list in a single day since the pandemic began.

Again, the good news for the players placed on the list on Tuesday, is that the new return-to-play protocols for COVID-19 apply to them. Should each player be vaccinated and asymptomatic, they need just one negative test before the team is permitted to activate them from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Previously, players needed two negative tests taken 24 hours apart in order to be activated.

That means several of these players still have a chance to play on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Arrowhead Stadium for Week 16.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides injury updates ahead of Wednesday practice

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided injury updates ahead of practice on Wednesday, informing reporters that two players were set to miss practice.

The Kansas City Chiefs will have their first practice of the week ahead of their Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills this afternoon.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his usually pre-practice injury update on Wednesday, informing reporters on the players who will miss practice to start the week. Only two players will be absent from practice to start the week, including one of the Chiefs’ best defensive linemen.

Chris Jones, who was limited all last week with a wrist injury is set to miss the first practice of the week with that same injury. The plan seems to be to get that wrist injury in a better place this week ahead of an important AFC conference game.

“I think it’s a distraction for him,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid told reporters of Jones’ wrist injury. “We’re trying to give him time to let it go today. He’s not going to practice today. So we’ll see how he does. That’s kind of where we’re at, just take it day-by-day and see how he does.”

Additionally, DB Armani Watts will miss practice with a non-COVID illness. The Chiefs do have several players returning to action on the defensive side of the ball.

“Everyone else will practice,” Reid said. “Frank Clark, Charvarius (Ward), (Rashad) Fenton will all be out there.”

Reid added that Willie Gay Jr., who was designated to return from injured reserve yesterday, would return to the practice field on Wednesday. It’s his first time practicing since injuring his toe in the final game of the preseason against the Minnesota Vikings.

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Chiefs place DE Malik Herring on non-football injury list, DB Armani Watts on PUP

The #Chiefs have placed DE Malik Herring on the active/non-football injury list and DB Armani Watts on the active/physically unable to perform list. More here:

The Kansas City Chiefs made two minor transactions on Saturday, relating to a pair of injured players.

According to the NFL’s official transaction report, the Chiefs have placed DE Malik Herring on the non-football injury list and DB Armani Watts on the physically unable to perform list.

Herring’s placement on the non-football injury list was expected. He sustained an ACL injury away from the team during Senior Bowl practices prior to the 2021 NFL draft. He’ll have the opportunity to recover while he’s on the list. The team did not receive a roster exemption for Herring, which means he will count toward the 90-man offseason roster.

If Herring remains on the active non-football injury list by the final roster cut date ahead of the 2021 NFL season, the Chiefs can move him to the reserve non-football injury list. If he’s placed on the reserve non-football injury list, the rules are similar to the PUP list. Herring wouldn’t be allowed to practice for six weeks and the team would eventually have to decide between activating him or placing him on the injured reserve list.

Watts, who is dealing with a foot fracture according to Andy Reid, was placed on the active physically unable to perform list. This means that Watts suffered his injury while with the team, unlike Herring. Watts can be activated at any point throughout training camp with this designation and he’ll also count toward the 90-man offseason roster.

If Watts remains on the list through 53-man roster cuts, he’ll revert to the reserve/PUP list. Players on the reserve/PUP list are required to miss the first six weeks of the regular season and if they’re not healthy after those six weeks, the team will be forced to either activate him or move him to injured reserve. The fact that Watts was placed on the active version of this list suggests that the team expects him back at some point during training camp.

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Chiefs players react to postponement of Week 4 vs. Patriots

Kansas City Chiefs players took to social media to express their dismay over the postponement of the Week 4 game.

The NFL has announced that the Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots Week 4 game will be postponed after a player on each team tested positive for COVID-19. The Chiefs had already begun to inform their players of the delay of Week 4 ahead of the official announcement. Several took to social media to react to the news of the postponement of the game.

Tyrann Mathieu opted to share an important reminder of the most critical protocols to follow that can keep everyone safe during the pandemic.

Tyreek Hill sought to reiterate Mathieu’s point because it’s just that important.

Armani Watts’ one-word reaction is really how most people are feeling after the news this morning.

Juan Thornhill feels like he’s witnessing something straight out of a movie, perhaps a horror film and not because it’s the month of October.

Mathieu’s initial reaction to the situation, while it wouldn’t follow social distancing guidelines, it emphasizes the frustration and disappointment from the players who truly love this game and want more than anything to be able to play.

This game will eventually be played, with the NFL expectation of Monday or perhaps Tuesday. This frustration is only temporary, but a disappointing Saturday for many Chiefs players and fans nonetheless.