Tag: marcus kemp

Commanders released former Chiefs mainstay on Monday

The Washington #Commanders parted ways with a former #Chiefs mainstay on Monday.

The Washington Commanders parted ways with former Kansas City Chiefs standout Marcus Kemp on Monday, clearing the way for a potential return to Western Missouri for the talented receiver.

Kemp signed with the Commanders in the offseason as part of a wave of former Chiefs who found a new home with Eric Bieniemy in Washington. While he wasn’t likely to push receiver Terry McLaurin for playing time on the Commanders’ depth chart, Kemp has made a name for himself in the NFL as a rock-solid special teams contributor.

His release on Monday hardly guarantees that he will be picked up by Kansas City later this week, but he could find his way back to the Chiefs as a member of the team’s practice squad.

Expect Kemp to be signed by a team in need of help at wide receiver in the coming days, as the two-time Super Bowl champion’s services should be in high demand ahead of the 2023 season.

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Commanders signed former Chiefs RB Derrick Gore on Monday

Eric Bieniemy added another former #Chiefs standout to the #Commanders roster on Monday when Washington signed running back Derrick Gore.

Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy added a familiar face to the Washington Commanders roster on Monday by signing talented running back Derrick Gore.

Gore, who was a free agent heading into training camp, was a member of Bieniemy’s offense in 2021 and a member of the Chiefs’ roster that season.

Bieniemy is looking to emulate Kansas City’s strategy for success in Washington in his first year as an NFL head coach and has added several former Chiefs to the team’s 90-man roster to compete for spots as the Commanders restructure their depth chart ahead of the 2023 season.

Gore joins former teammates Byron Pringle, Marcus Kemp, and Andrew Wylie in the Commanders’ offense, which should look drastically different with Bieniemy calling the shots.

Watch for Washington to take every page they can out of Andy Reid’s playbook over the course of the coming months as the Commanders look to rejuvenate their recently-sold franchise and return to relevance over the course of the next several years.

Commanders sign former Chiefs wide receiver Marcus Kemp

Kemp is a terrific special-teams performer.

The Washington Commanders made their first outside move of the offseason Friday by signing former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marcus Kemp.

Kemp, 27, is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound receiver who entered the NFL in 2017 as an undrafted free agent from Hawaii. Kemp spent the first four seasons of his career with the Chiefs before he was cut in December 2020. The Miami Dolphins signed Kemp to their practice squad, and he was active for the final regular season game. His contract expired after that game, and the Chiefs re-signed him to their practice squad for the playoffs, where he also spent most of the 2021 season.

After becoming a free agent, Kemp signed with the New York Giants in July 2022 and was waived a month later. Kemp again signed with Kansas City’s practice squad in October and finished the season with the Chiefs, winning his second Super Bowl ring.

Kemp became a free agent after the Super Bowl when his practice squad contract expired.

Kemp, who has played mostly special teams in the NFL, is the first former Kansas City player to follow new Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to Washington.

Washington is deep at wide receiver with Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Cam Sims and Dax Milne on the roster. However, Sims is expected to be a free agent and is a standout special-teams player like Kemp. Kemp could simply replace Sims on Washington’s roster.

Kemp has appeared in 47 career games and has four receptions for 42 yards.

Report: Former Chiefs WR Marcus Kemp following Eric Bieniemy to Washington

Former #Chiefs WR Marcus Kemp is following Eric Bieniemy to Washington and signing with the #Commanders, per report.

When Eric Bieniemy signed on as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator with the Washington Commanders, it was presumed that some players from the Kansas City Chiefs would soon follow.

According to Chiefs Digest’s Matt Derrick, former Chiefs WR Marcus Kemp is the first of those players to follow his former offensive coordinator. Derrick says that Kemp signed with the Commanders this morning.

A former undrafted free agent out of Hawaii in 2017, Kemp became an unrestricted free agent when his practice squad contract expired shortly after Super Bowl LVII. He was one of the players to step up for Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals when JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney and Mecole Hardman all left the game with injuries.

Kemp has appeared in 57 career games (incl. playoffs) with Kansas City over five seasons, with the majority of his work coming as a special teamer. He missed the 2019 NFL season due to a knee injury suffered in the preseason. He spent the entire 2021 NFL season on the Chiefs’ 53-man roster. If this truly is the end of his time in Kansas City, he’ll have recorded five career receptions for 55 yards, including a 13-yard reception in this year’s AFC title game.

This is the third time that Kemp has ventured outside the Chiefs organization. He briefly landed in Miami in 2020 before returning to the team. Last season, he followed Mike Kafka to the New York Giants, but an injury during the offseason saw him placed on injured reserve and waived with an injury designation. We’ll see if this latest opportunity in Washington is the right one for Kemp.

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Chiefs elevate pair of practice squad players for Super Bowl LVII

The #Chiefs elevated a pair of players from the practice squad ahead of #SuperBowlLVII

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a pair of practice squad elevations ahead of Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles. Just as the team did against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC divisional round, both WR Marcus Kemp and C Austin Reiter have been elevated from the practice squad per the NFL’s daily personnel notice.

Kemp was elevated in each of the past two postseason games, but he was only made active for the AFC Championship Game. He caught a crucial 13-yard pass to keep a touchdown drive alive against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Both Kemp and Reiter were made inactive for the divisional round against the Jaguars.

It’s possible the Chiefs go that route again in Super Bowl LVII, but it’s good to have the options available should something happen ahead of the game. There is no penalty or reason not to elevate players from the practice squad.

It’s possible that Kemp is active for the game given that the Chiefs normally like to carry six active receivers on game day. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney and Justin Watson are all expected to play in the Super Bowl, but after the AFC title game attrition, they might want to play it safe. Right now, no players carry any game status designations, so they’re pretty healthy. Kemp also plays a key role on special teams for Kansas City.

As for Reiter, he was the team’s starting center in both Super Bowl LIV and Super Bowl LV. Having him available should something go wrong in warm-ups is a smart move.

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3 unsung heroes in Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game win over Bengals

Our @goldmctNFL names three unsung heroes from the #Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game win over the #Bengals.

The Kansas City Chiefs needed a village to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.

Each of the three phases of the game combined to put together an impressive performance in the face of injury-related adversity. Some key players stepped up to make a difference, but there are also a few unsung heroes. Their performances were instrumental to the win, but they’ve flown a bit under the radar since the clock struck double zeroes.

Here’s a look at an unsung hero for the Chiefs from each phase of the game:

Chiefs announce flurry of roster moves ahead of AFC Championship Game

The #Chiefs have activated TE Jody Fortson to the 53-man roster, elevated two players from the practice squad and made two more practice squad transactions.

The Kansas City Chiefs have announced several roster moves ahead of the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

With an open roster spot following the release of Chris Lammons earlier this week, the Chiefs have activated TE Jody Fortson to the 53-man roster from the team’s injured reserve list. This was a move that Andy Reid had been foreshadowing all week and a welcomed return ahead of the AFC title game.

It wasn’t the only move the team made to add to their roster ahead of the big game on Sunday. The Chiefs also made a pair of practice squad elevations and two more practice squad transactions.

The Chiefs elevated two receivers from the practice squad for the game. This doesn’t necessarily mean both players will be active as we learned last week. They elevated Marcus Kemp and Austin Reiter for the AFC divisional round and neither played. This time around Kemp and Ihmir Smith-Marsette got the call-up to the active roster. Kemp has a greater chance of playing this week given his experience on special teams in the role vacated by Lammons.

In terms of the moves made that won’t impact the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs have again released WR/RB Jerrion Ealy from the practice squad. He’s approaching C.J. Spiller levels of replaceability at this point.

In a corresponding move, the Chiefs added RB La’Mical Perine to the practice squad. Perine’s older cousin, Samaje Perine, plays for the Bengals. Chiefs fans will remember Samaje well from the Week 13 matchup where he had a big day against Kansas City. La’Mical was drafted by the Jets in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft out of the University of Florida. He’s spent time in New York, Philly and most recently Miami.

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Chiefs elevate pair of practice squad players for AFC divisional round vs. Jaguars

The #Chiefs have officially elevated two players from the practice squad for the AFC divisional round game vs. the #Jaguars.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a pair of practice squad elevations ahead of their AFC divisional round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

According to the NFL’s personnel notice for Friday, the Chiefs have used a standard elevation on both practice squad WR Marcus Kemp and C Austin Reiter. Practice squad elevations reset during postseason play, so even though Kemp had exhausted his regular-season elevations, he’s permitted to be elevated and play.

With WR Mecole Hardman ruled out of the game, it makes plenty of sense for the Chiefs to elevate Kemp. The team has mostly gone with six receivers active on gameday. Kemp is one of the team’s longest-tenured special teams players and likely has the greatest depth of knowledge when it comes to the offensive playbook should he be needed to step in.

As for Austin Reiter, his elevation is an interesting one. The Chiefs did not have any interior offensive linemen end up on the injury report during the practice week. Reiter, however, is the team’s most battle-tested offensive lineman when it comes to the playoffs. Reiter was the Chiefs’ starting center throughout the 2019-20 and 2020-21 Super Bowl runs for Kansas City.

Some other housekeeping notes: The Chiefs did not activate either RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire and TE Jody Fortson from injured reserve. Both players were designated to return this week, but as Andy Reid suggested on Thursday, neither player was activated for the AFC divisional round.

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Chiefs elevate two practice squad receivers for Week 11 vs. Chargers

The #Chiefs have officially elevated two receivers from the practice squad for Week 11’s game vs. the #Chargers.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a practice squad promotion(s) ahead of their Week 11 game against the Los Angeles Chargers on “Sunday Night Football.”

According to the NFL’s personnel notice, the Chiefs have used a standard elevation on practice squad WRs Marcus Kemp and Cornell Powell. This comes as the team is dealing with some attrition at the receiver position. Mecole Hardman and JuJu Smith-Schuster are both out this week, leaving Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, Justin Watson and Skyy Moore as the team’s lone receivers on the active roster. Kemp and Powell will give them six players at the position on Sunday.

This is the third practice squad elevation this season for Kemp, which means the team can no longer use a standard elevation on him without the team risking losing him on waivers. This is the first time that Powell, a former 2021 fifth-round draft pick, has been activated to the 53-man roster this season.

Andy Reid mentioned Kemp as a possibility for a call-up during media availability this week. With the injuries to Hardman and Smith-Schuster, Kemp could actually see some snaps on offense this week. Since 2017, Kemp has appeared in 45 games for Kansas City, playing 125 snaps on offense. He’s caught four passes on eight targets for 42 yards during those snaps. Powell hasn’t seen much action on offense or special teams for the Chiefs, but he could see work in both phases on Sunday night.

Another roster note: The Chiefs did not activate OT Lucas Niang to the 53-man roster yet. They’ll have until next Wednesday to decide on whether they’ll activate him or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

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Chiefs elevate one practice squad player for Week 9 vs. Titans

The #Chiefs have officially elevated one player from the practice squad for Week 9 vs. the #Titans.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a single practice squad elevation ahead of their Week 9 game against the Tennessee Titans on “Sunday Night Football.”

According to the NFL’s daily personnel notice, the Chiefs have used a standard elevation on WR Marcus Kemp. This is the second practice squad elevation this season for Kemp and it comes at a peculiar time for Kansas City.

Many thought that DT Danny Shelton might get the call-up against a tough rushing attack. Others thought that TE Jordan Franks would get the call-up with TE Jody Fortson ruled out. Instead, it’s the team’s special teams ace getting the opportunity to play in Week 9.

With the addition of Kadarius Toney at the NFL’s trade deadline, the Chiefs will now have seven receivers eligible to be made active and play on Sunday. Could a player like Skyy Moore or Justin Watson be made inactive to accommodate both Toney and Kemp?

Keep in mind, Kemp will only have one more standard elevation remaining after this week. He was the subject of our special teams film review in Week 7 and it’s easy to see why he’s getting called up when you look at the success he had a week ago. He recorded two total tackles against the 49ers on special teams.

This was the lone roster move from Kansas City on Saturday. That means the team did not activate OT Lucas Niang to the 53-man roster yet. They’ll have 21 days from this past Wednesday to activate him or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

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