Tag: demone harris

Chiefs announce several roster moves on Saturday

The #Chiefs have activated LB Willie Gay Jr. from injured reserve plus more roster moves ahead of Week 5 vs. the #Bills.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made several roster moves on Saturday ahead of their Week 5 tilt against the Buffalo Bills.

In a highly anticipated move, the Chiefs have activated second-year LB Willie Gay Jr. from injured reserve. Gay suffered a toe injury in preseason Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings. As a result, he was placed on injured reserve to start the season.

Gay was designated to return from injured reserve earlier in the practice week, and even though he’ll be activated to the 53-man roster he’s not a guarantee to play in Week 5 against Buffalo. He’ll be listed as questionable on the injury report due to his toe injury, but there’s also the question of his mental health. He missed practice on Friday due to personal reasons and later revealed on Twitter that he was dealing with mental health issues.

In order to make room for Gay on the 53-man roster, the Chiefs waived reserve LB Darius Harris.

The Chiefs also elevated DE Demone Harris from the practice squad via standard elevation. Chris Jones missed the entire week of practice with a wrist injury. Typically an elevation like this would signal that Jones might not play, but remember, the Chiefs also recently placed Joshua Kaindoh on injured reserve. Frank Clark has also dealt with injuries this season, so the elevation of Harris is not necessarily indicative of Jones’ status.

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Chiefs protect 2 practice squad players for Week 5

For the second time this season, the #Chiefs have protected a pair of players on their practice squad.

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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Chiefs announce roster move on Saturday

The #Chiefs have made a practice squad elevation ahead of their Week 4 game with the #Eagles.

The Kansas City Chiefs have announced a roster move ahead of their Week 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

In order to help solve depth issues at the cornerback position, the Chiefs have called up a player from the practice squad. Kansas City is adding CB Dicaprio Bootle to the 53-man roster via standard elevation. They foreshadowed this move earlier this week when they protected Bootle and Demone Harris on the practice squad, something they typically only do when they intend to elevate players on gameday.

Bootle appearing in his first-ever regular-season game for the Chiefs after appearing in three games during the 2021 NFL preseason.

Bootle, 24, signed with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent following the 2021 NFL draft. The University of Nebraska standout played in a ton of games in college and he may find his niche in the NFL playing in the slot. With Rashad Fenton already ruled out the Chiefs needed to elevate another corner capable of playing the nickel position. Bootle had some first- and second-team repetitions during training camp shadowing both L’Jarius Sneed and Fenton. During the preseason, he got some good work in the slot too, flashing as a blitzer and against the pass.

In addition to elevating Bootle, the Chiefs also ruled out CB Charvarius Ward and DE Frank Clark.

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Chiefs protect 2 practice squad players for Week 4

For the first time this season, the #Chiefs have protected a pair of players on their practice squad.

The Kansas City Chiefs have protected a pair of players on the practice squad ahead of their Week 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Kansas City protected CB Dicaprio Bootle and DE Demone Harris according to the NFL’s personnel notice for Wednesday. This marks the first time that the Chiefs have used practice squad protections this season.

Teams are permitted to protect up to four players on the practice squad each week per NFL rules. Unprotected players are free to leave the team to sign to another team’s active roster. Those who are protected are not permitted to sign with other teams.

If the 2020 season is any indication, the Chiefs tend to protect the players that they’re considering elevating for their upcoming game. That would make a lot of sense this time around given the injuries that Kansas City is currently dealing with.

CB Rashad Fenton, who is the team’s backup nickel corner, is in the NFL’s concussion protocol and didn’t practice on Wednesday. During training camp and the preseason, Bootle played the nickel with the second- and third-string defense at times. Charvarius Ward also missed Week 3 with a quadriceps injury and it’s unclear what his status will be for the upcoming game.

The defensive end position is also dealing with some injuries. DE Frank Clark is dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of last week’s game against the Chargers. DE Chris Jones was limited in practice last week with a wrist injury. It’d make sense for Demone Harris to be the player called up in either’s absence. He’s been with the Chiefs since 2019 and knows the system well.

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Chiefs sign DE Demone Harris to practice squad

Chiefs bring DE Demone Harris back to the practice squad.

A few days after his release from the 53-man roster, the Kansas City Chiefs have brought defensive end Demone Harris back as a member of their practice squad according to the NFL’s official transaction report.

The team currently has two vacancies on the practice squad. One because of DT Braxton Hoyett being moved to the COVID-19 reserve list and another because of DE Tim Ward being signed to the 53-man roster.

An undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft, out of the University of Buffalo, Harris first joined the Chiefs as a late-season addition in 2019. He was signed to the team from the Baltimore Ravens practice squad.

Harris served as rotational depth through the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV run. Harris was a surprise to make the 53-man roster in 2020, with many thinking he would initially be released and signed to the K.C. practice squad.

Despite the team dealing with injury issues at Harris’ position, they opted to go a different route and add Ward. Harris has only appeared in one game for the Chiefs this season, playing against the Denver Broncos in Week 7 recording three tackles during the game on 38 snaps played.

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Chiefs make several transactions on Tuesday

It might be the bye week, but the Kansas City Chiefs are still making transactions to improve the team.

The Kansas City Chiefs might be on their bye week, but the front office is still hard at work managing the roster. According to the NFL’s official transaction report the team made three transactions on Tuesday.

The most significant of the transactions is the activation of OT Martinas Rankin from the reserve/PUP list. Rankin’s practice window opened up back in late October and the team was running out of time to activate him to the 53-man roster. Thankfully, he’ll make his return from injury after the bye week.

Rankin was acquired ahead of the 2019 season in a trade with the Houston Texans for RB Carlos Hyde. He suffered a serious knee injury last year after starting five games for Kansas City at left guard. His return comes at the perfect time as the Chiefs have dealt with some injuries at guard and tackle. Rankin has the flexibility to play both positions for the team.

In a corresponding move, the Chiefs waived DE Demone Harris from the 53-man roster. It’s a peculiar move given the fact that the team has presumably lost DE Taco Charlton for a chunk of time with an ankle fracture. Harris was signed to the 53-man roster from the Ravens practice squad late in 2019 after the team had lost Alex Okafor for the season. Harris is eligible to return to the practice squad for Kansas City. This move actually might signal that Okafor will be ready to return from his latest stint on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

The last move made by the Chiefs is one that bears watching. The team placed practice squad DT Braxton Hoyett on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Remember, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the player tested positive for the virus. He could simply be deemed a close contact to someone that has tested positive. Hoyett becomes the second practice squad player to land on the list after former Chiefs QB Jordan Ta’amu was placed on the list earlier this season.

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Buffalo natives on Chiefs celebrate Super Bowl berth (video)

Buffalo natives celebrate with Kansas City Chiefs after AFC Championship.

The Bills unfortunately won’t be in the Super Bowl, but that doesn’t mean Buffalo is not going to be repped.

The Chiefs have a couple of players from Western New York on their roster. Among them are wide receiver Jody Fortson and linebacker Demone Harris. Fortson attended South Park High School and Erie Community College. Harris went to Bishop Timon and the University at Buffalo.

While celebrating their AFC Title on Sunday, the two linked up on the field showing their Western New York pride. The two were tossing out “716” which of course is the Buffalo area code:

Along with Fortson and Harris, there’s also Ryan Hunter also on the Chiefs, who’s not shown in the video. The North Bay, Ontario native attended Canisius High School.

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Chiefs sign DE Demone Harris to 53-man roster from Ravens practice squad

The Kansas City Chiefs have opted for some practice squad poaching to reinforce their depth at the defensive end position.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a signing to reinforce the depth at the defensive end position.

After bringing in several veteran free agents for workouts, the front office has opted to go a different route. As first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs are poaching defensive end Demone Harris from the Baltimore Ravens practice squad.

Harris entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Buffalo in 2018. He originally signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and shuttled between their active roster and practice squad. During the 2019 preseason with the Bucs, Harris accumulated 11 total tackles, one sack and multiple QB pressures while playing the outside linebacker position in a 3-4 defensive scheme. He was cut last month, and the Ravens signed him to their practice squad on Oct. 22.

Harris has the prototypical size for a Steve Spagnuolo defensive end at 6 feet 4 and 272 pounds. He’ll likely even be able to reduce down to the inside when Spagnuolo runs his signature “NASCAR” packages. At first glance, Harris seems to be more comfortable putting his hand in the dirt and getting after the quarterback from a three-point stance.

In order to make room for Harris, the Chiefs have waived defensive tackle Joey Ivie. Ivie was called up from the Kansas City practice squad just a few weeks ago. The Chiefs will likely try to bring him back there if he clears waivers.

It’s easy to see what the Chiefs like about Harris from a football standpoint, but he is regarded as a good character guy too. A story about him rewarding a housekeeper who found and returned his misplaced engagement ring has been making the rounds. He’s also been regarded as a hard worker. For instance, he was a walk-on at the University of Buffalo. He was released multiple times by the Bucs once he made it to the NFL, but he never wavered. Now he’ll get his chance to go out and prove that he belongs on a 53-man roster.

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