Chiefs sign cornerback and finalize practice squad

A day after the 53-man roster was released, the Chiefs signed a player off the Indianapolis Colts waivers and finalized their 2023 practice squad. 

One player that did not make the Chiefs 53-man roster or the practice squad was quarterback Shane Buechele.

Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said that this time of year is hard for players that don’t make it after putting in hours of work throughout the offseason. 

“Shane is a good football player and we loved having him around,” Veach said. “There was a lot of trust and belief in Shane. It wasn’t an easy decision but just from a roster management standpoint there are sometimes roster decisions that you have to make and that was what we felt was best at this time."

“It’s always hard when you have to say goodbye to some of the players that have been here sometimes for years, sometimes since the spring,” he said. “Overall, I just can’t thank those players enough for all their hard work during this offseason and training camp.”

Wednesday afternoon the Chiefs signed cornerback Darius Rush off the Colts waivers. Rush was drafted by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of the University of South Carolina. Veach said that Rush matched everything that they are looking for in a corner. 

“Every time you make cuts, in your mind you have to have some roster management, then you are trying to predict practice squads and who will get claimed and who won’t,” Veach said. “Going into this thing we were looking for a run play defensive end and an athletic corner that has size, length and speed.”

Veach said that the new league roster cut deadline made the communication with other teams challenging to make trades. 

“We are usually getting calls two, three, four days before the deadline or right after the second preseason game,” Veach said. “I think it made it harder to execute trades. The communication was delayed and potentially could have negated some earlier trades."

The final 2023 Chiefs practice squad is listed below. 

Ekow-Boye-Doe (cornerback)

Deon Bush (safety)

Matt Bushman (tight end)

Cole Christiansen (linebacker)

Truman Jones (defensive end)

Darian Kinnard (tackle)

Chris Oladokun (quarterback)

La’Mical Perine (running back)

Cornell Powell (wide receiver)

Deneric Prince (running back)

Austin Reiter (center)

Danny Shelton (defensive tackle)

Reese Taylor (cornerback)

Chris Williams (defensive tackle)

Matt Dickerson (defensive tackle)

Goodrich Chukwuebuka (offensive tackle) (international pathway program player)