Tag: Felix Anudike-Uzomah

Chiefs DE George Karlaftis gives first impression of Felix Anudike-Uzomah

The #Chiefs’ second-year edge rusher spoke highly of newcomer Felix Anudike-Uzomah.

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It wasn’t long ago that George Karlaftis was going through his first offseason as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, at mandatory minicamp, Karlaftis is getting an opportunity to see another first-round edge rusher go through the process of adjusting to the NFL. Karlaftis will get a chance to help guide the No. 31 overall pick, Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah, during his first offseason with the team.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Karlaftis provided a strong first impression of the rookie.

“He’s been great,” Karlaftis said. “He has been a little bit banged up. He is a student of the game. (He) hasn’t been on the field a lot because of whatever, but he has been able to soak everything up. Mentally, he’s pretty good. I think he is going to have a bright future here.”

Anudike-Uzomah has dealt with thumb and hamstring injuries since entering the league in April. He missed rookie minicamp and was only recently able to get back on the field during the final week of OTAs.

While Karlaftis hasn’t been able to see much from the rookie on the field, he was quite complimentary of his ability to pick things up off the field. Whether it’s the playbook or just taking tips from the veterans, it sure sounds like Anudike-Uzomah is well on his way to a productive rookie campaign in Kansas City.

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Could Chiefs explore trade for Commanders DE Chase Young?

Our @LazarczykLogan explores the risk and reward if the #Chiefs were to trade for #Commanders DE Chase Young:

Washington Commanders DE Chase Young has mostly disappointed since winning Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020.

After being taken second overall behind Joe Burrow in the 2020 NFL draft, Young recorded 7.5 sacks, 44 tackles and three forced fumbles in his first season as a pro. He suffered a torn ACL in 2021, appearing in only 11 games over the last two seasons. In that time, he has produced 1.5 sacks and 26 tackles.

This offseason, the Commanders declined Young’s fifth-year option, leaving his future with Washington uncertain. On Tuesday, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that the Commanders could be open to trade inquiries surrounding Young.

“Teams coming out of the spring thinking they need more help may make trade calls on Young,” Breer said. “It seems unlikely the Washington brass would move him ahead of a must-win year, but I know they’d be open to listening.”

Could the Kansas City Chiefs be a potential landing spot for the former top-three pick?

Brett Veach has shown a willingness to take a swing on talented players who could come at a discount. Kadarius Toney is a perfect example.

Last October, the Chiefs acquired Toney, a former first-round pick in 2021, from the Giants in exchange for two draft picks. Toney’s nagging injuries and other factors led to his departure from New York.

Young faces the same type of questions as far as injuries go, and it could be the perfect opportunity for Veach to strike a deal. The only selling point the Commanders can make to a team is that Young is a former No. 2 overall pick who had a stellar rookie season. However, injuries and poor performance in the last two seasons will surely drop his price tag.

There are certainly arguments for both sides of the discussion of whether or not the Chiefs should explore acquiring Young. Giving up a mid-round pick for a player who has shown in the past that he can be highly productive could prove smart business.

Playing alongside Chris Jones could also open up opportunities for Young. A player of Young’s caliber should be capable of exploiting one-man protection, as Jones will often be occupying multiple interior offensive linemen.

Kansas City could use another pass rusher. They have a pair of young first-round edge rushers in George Karlaftis and Felix Anudike-Uzomah. Karlaftis will be entering his second season in the NFL and could take on more of a leadership role. Anudike-Uzomah will certainly have rookie growing pains and has missed rookie minicamp and OTAs up to this point while recovering from thumb surgery.

For the Chiefs, the biggest obstacle to trading for Young is the salary cap. The team has under $1 million in cap space, and a team trading for Young will owe him $5.3 million in guaranteed salary. Kansas City has ways to free salary cap space, but it’s not just as simple as extending a player to sign another.

Trading for Young could be a one-year proposition. That is something some Chiefs fans may not be thrilled with, but if acquiring Young helps the team hoist a Lombardi Trophy in 2023, there will be little rebuttal to the move.

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Rookie stat projections: Kansas City Chiefs

Projecting the rookie stats for the Kansas City Chiefs draft class of 2023

With the NFL draft over and rookie camps underway, it is a good time to evaluate the draft picks and see what kind of impacts the projected contributors will make.

Let’s take a look at the Chiefs draft picks and project some stats for the team’s early draftees:

3 reasons why Chiefs’ defense could be a top-10 unit in 2023

Here are the three reasons why the #Chiefs defense will be a top-10 unit in 2023:

During Patrick Mahomes’ time as the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, the defense has always been a question mark heading into the season. However, entering the 2023 season, Kansas City could have a defensive unit that is flying a bit under the radar.

In 2022, Kansas City’s defense featured six rookies that played significant snaps in the regular season and playoffs. Those players include Trent McDuffie, George Karlaftis, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook, and Leo Chenal. That’s what is so exciting about the potential of this defense in 2023. Yes, the players are still very young, but the experience these players went through on a Super Bowl run will have them more prepared this time around. In addition, there are veteran players on the defense that should continue to elevate the young players around them. 

There are a few reasons why this defense can take substantial steps in the upcoming season.

Chiefs Check-in: OTAs set to start as Chiefs enter final offseason prep phase

The #Chiefs are preparing for the home stretch of their offseason program with OTAs set to start this week.

Chiefs Check-in is our online newsletter at Chiefs Wire, running Monday-Friday mornings. Subscribe to get more Chiefs news delivered to your inbox every day.

The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing for their final phase of offseason preparation ahead of training camp with organized team activities set to start this week. They will have most of their roster in the same place for a few days to stay fresh before the nearly two-month pause and should get in some much-needed practice ahead of a 2023 season wherein they hope to defend their newly won Super Bowl title.

Check out all the most relevant Chiefs news for the morning of Monday, May 22nd:

Chiefs sign first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah to rookie contract

Only one 2023 NFL draft pick for the #Chiefs remains unsigned.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have inked another one of their seven 2023 NFL draft picks to their rookie contract.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, former Kansas State edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah has signed his four-year rookie contract with the team. The 21-year-old was the No. 31 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.

He is now the sixth rookie to sign his contract with Kansas City, joining third-round pick Wanya Morris, fourth-round pick Chamarri Conner, fifth-round pick BJ Thompson, sixth-round pick Keondre Coburn and seventh-round pick Nic Jones. The only player left unsigned from the 2023 draft class is second-round pick Rashee Rice. That comes as no surprise, given the fact that he falls within the range of draft picks where agents have more room to bargain on guaranteed money.

Speaking of guarantees, expect Anudike-Uzomah’s contract to be fully-guaranteed. As a first-round pick, the contract will also include a fifth-year option. According to projections from Spotrac based on draft slotting, Anudike-Uzomah’s contract should be worth $11.9 million in total value with a $5.59M signing bonus and a $2.1M salary-cap hit for the 2023 NFL season.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid gives injury updates following conclusion of rookie minicamp

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid gave injury updates on first-round draft pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah and confirmed reports about Isiah Pacheco’s offseason surgeries.

Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided some injury updates following the conclusion of the team’s rookie minicamp on Monday.

The biggest question hanging over the team was about what was going on with first-round draft pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah. He was limited throughout the practice week and was spotted with a wrap on his hand. He did finally wear a helmet and participated a little more on the final practice day.

Reid says that Anudike-Uzomah is recovering from thumb surgery.

“As far as injuries go, really it’s just Felix (Anudike-Uzomah),” Reid said. “So, he had a thumb that he had surgery on. He did a little bit more today than he did yesterday and we’ll just keep gradually bringing him back in.”

That surgery apparently took place before the draft around when he was brought to Kansas City for the team’s local prospect day.

“It was actually before the workout that we had,” Reid said. “Right before that workout that we had here. He wasn’t able to do that either.”

As for a timetable for the top draft choice’s full return to action, Reid didn’t make any promises.

“We’re kind of gradually bringing him back,” Reid said. “Today, he had his helmet on and did a little bit more. You’d hope maybe Phase 3, but you don’t know. We’ll just see how he feels.”

Reid’s next injury update came on a player who wasn’t at the team’s rookie camp. News recently broke about offseason surgeries for RB Isiah Pacheco after playing through Super Bowl LVII with a broken hand and torn labrum. Reid confirmed that Pacheco did have surgery this offseason and that he’s progressing in his recovery.

“He’s making progress,” Reid said. “We’ll just see how it goes. I can’t even give you a timeline on (the injury). He goes through all the steps out there with Phase 2. He just can’t get hit on that thing.”

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Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah intends to make most of opportunity to live out his dream

#Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah is saying all the right things about being drafted by his hometown team.

By now, everyone knows that first-round draft pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah grew up a Kansas City Chiefs fan.

Even before football was his sport of choice, he was watching the Matt Cassel-era Chiefs on television with the rest of the local population in Kansas City. He’d go on to play football at Lee’s Summit High School, and he even initially played the running back position because he idolized Jamaal Charles.

“I remember I (wore jersey number) 25 because I wanted to be (a running back),” Anudike-Uzomah said. “At the time I was a running back, so I wanted to be a running back just like Jamaal Charles.”

He confirmed to reporters that he’s getting an opportunity to live out was has been a childhood dream.

“Obviously, if you’re a Chiefs fan, especially a Chiefs fan growing up, you always have the dream of playing for the Kansas City Chiefs,” Anudike-Uzomah said. “That’s every young boy’s dream is to play for the Kansas City Chiefs. So, other than that, I’m happy to be and I’m honored to be able to fulfill the dream that a lot of people around Kansas City, Missouri, have a dream of.”

While Anudike-Uzomah’s excitement was palpable, there was also a level of seriousness and responsibility in this undertaking. He’s getting to live out a dream that many athletes have and he intends to make sure he doesn’t waste his opportunity.

“It’s breathtaking really, I’m not going to lie to you on that,” Anudike-Uzomah said. “Coming here, just to see that I’m actually playing for the Kansas City Chiefs is just a dream come true. Now that I’m here I’ve actually got to put in the work and actually prove myself.”

That opportunity starts with rookie minicamp this weekend. Even though Anudike-Uzomah is seemingly unable to participate in team drills due to an injury, he’s focused on learning the playbook and scheme.

“To start off now, I just want to learn the playbook and I just want to be present and learn from the guys that already won a Super Bowl. And if I have the opportunity to play or (to) start, anything like that, I’ll be gladly appreciative. But as of right now, I want to work on learning the playbook and work on getting tips from the older guys.”

If Anudike-Uzomah puts in the work, he knows that the next time he attends a Super Bowl parade, he’ll be a member of the team and not a fan in the crowd.

“I’ve got to put the work in so I can actually (make the team),” Anudike-Uzomah said. “For me, I still haven’t made the team until I put in the work and impress the coaches. After that period. Yes, I’m fan, now it’s time to go to work and try to win another Super Bowl.”

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Chiefs Check-in: Kansas City prepares for 2023 season after stellar draft

What’s happening in #ChiefsKingdom? Check out the #Chiefs news of the day for May 8, 2023.

Chiefs Check-inis our online newsletter at Chiefs Wire, running Monday-Friday mornings. Subscribe to get more Chiefs news delivered to your inbox every day.

The Kansas City Chiefs are in the midst of an offseason training program that will prepare them for the 2023 regular season before the summer gets into full swing. With months remaining before training camp and the preseason, the team is focused on fundamentals as they look to get their rookies up to speed.

Here are all of the best tidbits and stories about the Chiefs, AFC West, and NFL relevant for the morning of Monday, May 8th:

Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah sits out of team drills at Day 1 of rookie minicamp

The #Chiefs’ first-round draft pick was spotted without a helmet and didn’t participate in team drills during Day 1 of rookie minicamp.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ top draft pick didn’t participate in team drills during the first day of rookie minicamp.

Kansas State DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah was held out of team drills during Saturday’s rookie minicamp practice for unknown reasons. He was spotted taking part in warm-ups, but he didn’t have his helmet, which is usually a surefire indication that a player won’t practice.

Video of warm-ups revealed that Anudike-Uzomah was seen with a wrap on his right hand, suggesting he might be dealing with an injury.

Check it out:

Mitch Holthus and Matt McMullen recently revealed on an episode of their podcast that Anudike-Uzomah broke his hand on the last play of the Sugar Bowl. The rookie pass rusher also sat out of testing at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine due to a right foot injury. It’s not currently clear what he’s dealing with that is keeping him out of practice and Andy Reid won’t talk to the media until Monday when rookie minicamp wraps up.

Clearly, he’s dealing with some sort of ailment that the team doesn’t want to be aggravated. Right now, he’s not missing too much in terms of on-field work as rookie minicamp tends to be a bit chaotic. Rest assured, they want him fresh and on the field during OTAs and mandatory minicamp when veterans are in the building.

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