Tag: Nick Keizer

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 place OL Kyle Long on PUP, TE Nick Keizer on non-football injury list

The #Chiefs have placed OL Kyle Long on the active/PUP list, TE Nick Keizer on the active/non-football injury list and WR Chris Finke on IR. More here:

The Kansas City Chiefs made a few more transactions on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s initial training camp practice.

According to the NFL’s official transaction report, the Chiefs have placed OL Kyle Long on the physically unable to perform list and TE Nick Keizer on the non-football injury list.

Long, who suffered a leg injury during OTAs, is expected to miss training camp with his injury. A move to the PUP list was expected given the expected duration of his injury. He was placed on the active/PUP list, which means he’ll continue to count against the 90-man offseason roster. He can be activated at any point throughout training camp with this designation, which means if he’s ahead of schedule on his injury, he’ll be able to practice and play with the team.

Keizer’s placement on the active/non-football injury list comes as a bit of surprise. The veteran tight end hadn’t been absent from OTAs or mandatory minicamp. Heading to the non-football injury list and not the PUP list suggests that he suffered his injury training away from the team. With an extremely competitive tight end group this season, missing any significant period of time could be a big deal for Keizer and any shot he had to make the team.

If Long and Keizer remain on these respective lists through 53-man roster cuts, the team will have to choose to activate the players or send them to reserve versions of each list. If they are sent to the reserve versions, they’d both be required to miss six weeks of the NFL season before they can return to practice and be activated to the 53-man roster. If they aren’t healthy after those six weeks, the team can then choose to send them to injured reserve.

The Chiefs now have two players on both the non-football injury list and PUP list, with a total of four players who are injured counting against the 90-man offseason roster. Long and Keizer join DE Malik Herring and DB Armani Watts.

In addition to these two transactions, the Chiefs placed WR Chris Finke on injured reserve. He was waived with an injury designation on Monday, clearing waivers and reverting to the injured reserve list. The receiver can now choose to heal up and return to action when he’s ready or the team can come to an agreement on an injury settlement and he can go pursue another opportunity.

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Report: Chiefs tender offer to exclusive rights free agent TE Nick Keizer

The Chiefs have retained another one of their own players on the offensive side of the ball.

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to make moves to retain some of their own role players, this time bringing back an exclusive rights free agent.

According to Kansas City Star beat writer Sam McDowell, the Chiefs have tendered a contract offer to TE Nick Keizer. The deal hasn’t been signed yet, but it’s expected to be done. The primary backup to Travis Kelce in 2020, Keizer joined the team back in May of 2019 when they had some injuries at the position. He didn’t make the 53-man roster and spent the rest of the season on the practice squad before signing a reserve/future deal to return in 2020.

Keizer made the 53-man roster out of training camp this year and appeared in all 16 regular-season games, making three starts for the team. He recorded just six receptions for 63 yards on nine targets and was utilized often as an extra blocker on passing downs. He also played over 50% of the teams’ snaps on special teams.

When you tender an exclusive rights free agents, their contract is commensurate with their accrued service time. Keizer will earn a non-guaranteed minimum salary benefit. It won’t be enough money to impact the Chiefs’ salary cap under the top 51 rule.

Kansas City has an interest in upgrading this position group in the draft and possibly even free agency or trade. At the same time, ensuring that you have an option to fall back on is a good business decision. After all, you always need to have competitive depth on the back end of your roster.

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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes says TE Nick Keizer’s game has evolved

Keizer has developed a lot between now and his first year in Kansas City.

The Kansas City Chiefs have returned many starters from their Super Bowl-winning season, but they also return a handful of developmental players too. Guys who’ve been on the practice squad or depth in the past have an equal opportunity to impress during training camp.

One player who has recently taken his game to the next level is TE Nick Keizer, who spent the 2019 season on the practice squad in Kansas City. Keizer was a late addition ahead of the 2019 preseason after injuries at the TE position began to pile up.

Fast forward to 2020 and injuries at the position have Keizer taking snaps with the first-team offense, working alongside starting TE Travis Kelce and star QB Patrick Mahomes. Taking advantage of that opportunity has earned Keizer an extended look as the No. 2 tight end in Kansas City. It’s also earned some praise from Mahomes.

 “For Keizer, what’s impressed me the most is the way that he’s able to correct things and do things the right way the next time,” Mahomes said. “He’s had success from some of the different stuff that he’s learned from Travis (Kelce) and some of those guys from last year. You’re really seeing his game evolve and you’re really seeing how he’s seeing how the older guys have done it and had success with it. He’s adding that to his game and then he’s finding stuff that he’s good at and he’s going out there and having success with that. When you have guys like that who can learn from the veteran guys that we have on this team, then you have guys who can go out there and have success on the field.”

Learning from the best tight end in the NFL certainly has its perks. Keizer credits Kelce and Blake Bell for his development, saying that working behind them helped him absorb a ton of information. At the same time, Mahomes has noticed the perseverance in Keizer, figuring out what works best for his game and also learning from mistakes at practice.

Keizer has put in the work on his own time required to see that success on the field. One thing that he specifically sought to improve this offseason was his ability as a receiver. He had some big receiving games at Grand Valley State University in college, but he needed to do a bit more to find success at the NFL level. Keizer always considered himself a good blocker, but now he brings more to the table.

“I feel like I’ve developed a lot in the past year,” Keizer said. “Being behind those guys like I said, learning what they do and observing and watching them and kind of implementing that into my game. Then spending a lot of time in the offseason – I’ve always felt like a pretty strong blocker, but this offseason I spent a lot of time working on my routes, my quickness, speed, releases and stuff like that. I feel like that’s kind of slightly brought me to a better level of overall versatility. I feel like I provide a good blocking element to the offense which we have a lot of run schemes that the tight end is involved in at the point of attack. I feel like that’s something I can bring to the table and help displace guys and creating holes as well as the other side of the game, the route running and stuff. Just being crisp and knowing my assignments, I feel like that’s something I’m able to do.”

There still might be a sense of amazement when the ball leaves Mahomes’ hands and heads in Keizer’s direction, but he’s clearly worked hard for this moment. He’s worked on his explosion, his strength, his power. He’s fine-tuned every aspect of his game. Now, he’s reaping the rewards of his hard work over the course of the past season, with an opportunity to become more involved in one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses.

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Chiefs TE Nick Keizer has best quote on catching passes from Patrick Mahomes

This quote from Chiefs TE Nick Keizer is why the rolling on the floor laughing emoji exists.

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Kansas City Chiefs TE Nick Keizer spoke to the media following training camp practice on Sunday.

Keizer, who was on the Chiefs’ practice squad in 2019, has emerged as a legitimate candidate to become the No. 2 tight end in Kansas City this season. He’s taken swift advantage of the injuries at the position, working with the first-team offense in 12 personnel groupings. He’s even emerged as a threat in the passing game, with noticeable chemistry developing between Keizer and Chiefs starting QB Patrick Mahomes.

Today, Keizer fielded a question about catching passes from Mahomes and shared perhaps the best quote of the entirety of training camp. Check out the clip from Chiefs Digest’s Matt Derrick below:

“When the ball leaves his hand there’s little sparks and little rainbows around it every time. It’s pretty crazy,” Keizer joked. “I’m kidding. No, he does an amazing job of putting it in a good spot and obviously he makes throws that you wouldn’t think are possible. It’s pretty cool to be on the receiving end of that and do my part of being in the right spot for him. He helps, obviously, make my job a little easier by putting them in some small windows.”

This quote from Keizer is why the rolling on the floor laughing emoji exists. I know that we talk about “Mahomes Magic” often in regards to the crazy plays that Mahomes makes on the regular. I didn’t think I’d see the day where a teammate would take it literally. All jokes aside, it’s great to see a flourishing on-field relationship between Mahomes and another young player that can contribute in this offense moving forward.

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Chiefs TE Nick Keizer carving out significant role during training camp

The case is being made for Keizer to be the No. 2 tight end in Kansas City this year.

Sometimes an opportunity arises from injury.

The Kansas City Chiefs have suffered a wave of injuries at the tight end position, with both Deon Yelder and Ricky Seals-Jones sidelined by injuries at training camp. Those two injuries have opened things up for practice squad tight end Nick Keizer to carve out a significant role for himself during the course of training camp.

Keizer joined the Chiefs in May of 2019 after being released by the Baltimore Ravens. He performed well in training camp and posted top PFF grades at the tight end position throughout the preseason with the team. Keizer didn’t make the 53-man roster but spent the entire season learning and working on the practice squad for Kansas City. He was even the first player signed to a reserve/future deal by the Chiefs following Super Bowl LIV.

It’s clear that Keizer has made strides since 2019 and now he’s taking full advantage of this newfound opportunity. Throughout training camp, Keizer has been lining up as the No. 2 tight end opposite Travis Kelce in 12 personnel groupings.

“Nick has done a good job,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said during Wednesday’s press conference. “He’s getting better every day. He’s a smart kid, tough kid, and he has a good mentor there with [Travis Kelce], so he gets to see it done the right way. I’m asking all those guys, just try to get yourself better every day, work through it. We ask a lot out of that position within the run game and the pass game, and if you’re not focused in every day that you come out and disciplined, then you’re going to take a step backward. So, they’ve done a good job with it—Nick being one of them there that I think is really working hard at getting himself to where he’s one of the guys.”

Kelce continues to be the focal point of the offense at the tight end position. However, it’s crucial for the Chiefs to have two capable tight ends when they run 12 personnel. Blake Bell played the No. 2 tight end in Kansas City last season, lining up opposite from Kelce in 12 personnel. Bell, of course, signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent this offseason. It’s crucial to replace Bell as the Chiefs lined up in 12 personnel over 30 percent of the time last season, good for the fourth-most in the NFL.

While Keizer has been getting those No. 2 repetitions opposite Kelce, he’s also getting repetitions with the second team while the Chiefs have been short-handed at the position. All of the experience that he’s been getting now can only help.

“I like the fact that you’re highlighting that he’s getting a lot of reps,” Chiefs TE Coach Tom Melvin said to reporters on Thursday. “He’s done a great job with that. He was with us a year ago, so for him, it’s basically just putting data in his hard drive by getting more reps. He’s doing a great job with it. He’s much better in the passing game, down the field. He’s pretty good on the end of the line of scrimmage. We’re really happy with the amount of experience that he’s getting now, especially with the ones to run against a number one defense.”

Keizer’s role in 12 personnel packages will primarily be to work in as a blocker. But it’s good to note that he’s also showing improvement as a receiver. His growth is even having an impact on young players in Kansas City, like Willie Gay Jr., who mentioned Keizer as someone who is, “making me better each and every day.”

It’s still early, with just under three weeks to go until the season opener, but given how things are shaping up, Keizer could very well earn the No. 2 tight end job in Kansas City this season.

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