Tag: bryan witzmann

Chiefs announce a pair of roster moves on Sunday

#Chiefs TE Nick Keizer has been placed on the Reserve/Retired list. OG Bryann Witzmann also has been signed. More on the latest roster moves here:

The Kansas City Chiefs announced a pair of roster moves on Sunday.

After passing his physical and returning from the non-football injury list earlier this week, Chiefs TE Nick Keizer has retired from the NFL. Keizer was dealing with a back injury suffered away from the team. Clearly, it’s something more severe than initially let on. The team described Keizer’s injury as back spasms on the first day of training camp.

Placement on the Reserve/Retired list means that the Chiefs maintain Keizer’s rights if he were to return and play. Keizer was tendered a restricted free agent contract this offseason and set to make $780K this season in Kansas City.

In addition to Keizer’s retirement, the Chiefs announced that they had signed OG Bryan Witzmann. The veteran guard had been on the Chiefs’ roster earlier in the offseason but was released ahead of rookie minicamp.

Witzmann has a long history with Kansas City. He played with the Chiefs from 2016-2017, appearing in 27 regular-season games, starting 13 games at left guard for the team in 2017. He was released shortly after the beginning of the 2018 NFL season but returned to the practice squad in 2020.

Witzmann’s return likely has to do with Darryl Williams’ placement on Reserve/COVID-19 list. With Nick Allegretti and Austin Blythe seeing more snaps at center and an injury to Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, there was a clear need for another guard in the mix.

The Chiefs should still have one vacant roster spot after Keizer’s retirement. With injuries to DTs Derrick Nnadi and Tyler Clark today, expect the team to perhaps bring in a free agent defensive tackle to join the team.

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Chiefs release 3 players ahead of rookie minicamp

Chiefs rookie minicamp begins on Friday, May 14 and the team needed space to sign undrafted rookies.

Like clockwork, ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs rookie minicamp comes a wave of releases of players who signed reserve/future deals with the team.

According to the NFL’s official transaction report, the Chiefs released veteran G Bryan Witzmann, TE Sean Culkin and waived QB Jordan Ta’amu. All three players signed to reserve/future deals with Kansas City at some point this offseason. Draft picks, free agents and undrafted free agents signings have since bumped those players from the 90-man offseason roster.

Witzmann signed to the practice squad during the course of the 2020 NFL season when the offensive line injuries began to mount for the Chiefs. He played in Kansas City from 2016-2017, appearing in 27 regular-season games. He started 13 games at left guard for the team in 2017 but was released shortly after the beginning of the 2018 NFL season. It’s no surprise that he’s been released after all of the investments the team made into the offensive line this offseason.

Ta’amu originally signed on with the Chiefs during the 2020 offseason after competing for the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks, throwing for 1,050 yards and five touchdowns. He spent some time on the practice squad last season, but was released in late October. He was eventually re-signed in January and promptly released before signing his reserve/future deal. Adding Anthony Gordon and Shane Buechele hurt any chances that Ta’amu had to stick with the team. He’ll need to clear waivers in order to sign with another team.

You can find out more about Culkin’s release here.

This is all pretty commonplace for the Chiefs to clear out a few reserve/future contracts to make way for signings of veteran free agents, undrafted free agents and rookie minicamp tryouts. Kansas City only needed one roster spot cleared for the 90-man roster, so expect some yet-to-be-reported signings in the coming days.

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Breaking down Chiefs’ tackle options if Eric Fisher, Mike Remmers can’t play

A look at the different options the Chiefs have at the tackle position with Eric Fisher and Mike Remmers out of practice.

It’s beginning to look like the Kansas City Chiefs will be without one or both their starting tackles against the New Orleans Saints. Both Eric Fisher and Mike Remmers were absent from practice for a second consecutive day on Thursday, putting their status for Week 15 up in the air.

The situation at tackle was already dire with former starting RT Mitchell Schwartz on injured reserve due to a back injury. They also don’t have rookie Lucas Niang, who opted out of the 2020 season. With a depleted group at the tackle position the options are dwindling, but here’s a look at the various options the Chiefs will have to weigh.

 

Chiefs elevate two players from practice squad on Saturday

Bryan Witzmann and Gehrig Dieter make their returns to the Chiefs’ 53-man roster.

The Kansas City Chiefs have elevated a pair of players from the practice squad ahead of their Week 9 contest against the Carolina Panthers.

The Chiefs announced on Saturday that they’d activated WR Gehrig Dieter and OL Bryan Witzmann from the practice squad. Both players are reinforcing depth at positions where injuries have occurred for the team. Dieter and Witzmann have each spent time on the 53-man roster before, which is a bonus.

WR Sammy Watkins was ruled out earlier today, missing his fourth consecutive game for the Chiefs. RT Mitchell Schwartz was ruled out on Friday, missing his third game of the season with a back injury.

Dieter finished the 2019 season on the 53-man roster. He figures to play mostly special teams for the Chiefs unless there is an injury. The team had elevated WR Marcus Kemp in each of the past three weeks, but he’s no longer able to be elevated using this year’s standard elevation procedure.

Witzmann recently rejoined Kansas City. He was the starter at left guard for the team back in 2017. Similar to Dieter’s situation, the team is no longer able to elevate Danny Isidora using the standard elevation procedure. Witzmann figures to be utilized in a reserve role too.

It appears the team will wait to activate L’Jarius Sneed from injured reserve and Martinas Rankin from the PUP list. These are the only two transactions made by the team ahead of the game on Sunday.

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Chiefs sign OT Bryan Witzmann to practice squad

Witzmann played with the Chiefs during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed a player they’re familiar with to the practice squad.

Offensive tackle Bryan Witzmann was in Kansas City to visit the team over the weekend and the visit must have gone well. On Tuesday, the team officially signed Witzmann to the practice squad according to the NFL’s official transaction report. The team cleared a spot on the practice squad for Witzmann yesterday, releasing fan-favorite QB Jordan Ta’amu.

Witzmann, of course, formerly played for the Chiefs after he was claimed off of waivers by the team in 2016. The 30-year-old offensive lineman spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons in Kansas City, appearing in 27 regular-season games. He started 13 games at left guard for the team in 2017, blocking for Kareem Hunt and pass-protecting for Alex Smith. Witzmann made the initial 53-man roster in Kansas City ahead of the 2018 season but was released when the team claimed Austin Reiter off of waivers.

Why did the Chiefs opt to bring back Witzmann, though? Injuries to Kelechi Osemele and Mitchell Schwartz have the Chiefs thin on offensive line depth. Tackle is specifically an area of concern and Witzmann has the versatility to play both tackle and guard.

Another problem is the practice squad rules for standard elevation. Kansas City looks poised to elevate Danny Isidora to the active roster for a second-straight week. Isidora would no longer be allowed to be elevated to the 53-man roster in this manner after this week. If the team wanted to have him available on game day, they’d have to sign him to the 53-man roster and release him subsequently, subjecting him to waivers. Adding a player like Witzmann gives the Chiefs flexibility in that regard.

This signing also could signal something about the status of OT Martinas Rankin, who is practicing for Kansas City but hasn’t yet been activated from the PUP list. Rankin suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2019 and is now on the second week of his practice window.

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Chiefs hosted OT Bryan Witzmann for a visit

A former starter for the Chiefs was in for a visit on Sunday.

A familiar face visited the Kansas City Chiefs over the weekend.

According to the NFL’s official transaction report, veteran OT Bryan Witzmann was in Kansas City for a visit on Sunday. The team was in Denver to face the Broncos that day, but someone in the personnel department stayed behind to host Witzmann for a visit.

Witzmann, 30, entered the NFL in 2014 as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. He spent the 2016-2017 seasons with the Chiefs, appearing in 27 regular-season games and starting in 13 games at left guard during the 2017 season. Witzman made the initial 53-man roster in Kansas City ahead of the 2018 season but was promptly released to make room for Austin Reiter. He’s since spent time with the Chicago Bears, starting seven games at right guard. Most recently, Witzmann played for the Carolina Panthers in 2019.

The 6-foot-7, 320-pound lineman offers positional versatility with the ability to fill in at guard or kick out and play tackle. Most of his snaps have come at the guard position, especially during his time with the Chiefs. He’d be a good addition because he has an understanding of the offense. They’ve likely installed some new things since he was last on the roster, but he’ll at least know the verbiage of Andy Reid’s complex offensive scheme.

If the team chooses to sign Witzmann he’d likely fill a spot on the practice squad. The team has some injuries along the offensive line and his versatility could prove valuable during the second half of the season.

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