Chiefs Roster: Meet 2025’s initial practice squad

As they prepare to open their season against the Los Angeles Chargers next Friday, September 5 in Saõ Paulo, Brazil, the Kansas City Chiefs have announced the players who have been signed to their initial practice squad.

In its 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFLPA, the league planned a gradual transition from 10 to 16-man practice squads. But once the coronavirus pandemic was underway, the league and the union agreed to immediately expand them — and it’s remained that way ever since. Teams can now sign up to six practice squad players who have an unlimited number of accrued professional seasons.

Teams are now allowed to elevate up to two players to their gameday rosters (up to three times for an individual player in the regular season) without the risk of a waiver claim. Clubs retain the ability to protect up to four players from being signed to other 53-man rosters. The Chiefs have used this ability only sparingly — generally, when there have been multiple injuries in a position group.

Read on to find out more about these players — and why Kansas City can actually have a 17th player on this year’s taxi squad.

Cole Christiansen • LB • 6-1 • 230 pounds

After playing college football for Army, Christiansen has been on and off the Chiefs’ active roster and practice squad over the past three seasons. He appeared in nine games for the 2024 Chiefs, playing 141 snaps on special teams. He totaled six tackles this preseason.

Ethan Downs • DE • 6-4 • 264 pounds

Downs signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in April as an undrafted free agent after four seasons at Oklahoma. He was waived in their final roster cuts. In 51 games with the Sooners, Downs accumulated 12.5 career sacks, along with a pair of forced fumbles and an interception.

Mike Edwards • S • 5-10• 205 pounds

A six-year veteran, Edwards has won a Super Bowl playing against the Chiefs (while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021) and another one playing with Kansas City as a member of 2023’s Super Bowl LVII squad. After splitting time between the Buffalo Bills and Buccaneers in 2024, he returned to the Chiefs in the offseason, although he did not make Tuesday’s 53-man roster. Edwards has eight career interceptions in 83 regular-season games.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire • RB • 5-7 • 207 pounds

The Chiefs’ first-round selection of the 2020 NFL Draft returns to Kansas City after a short sabbatical with the New Orleans Saints. Edwards-Helaire appeared in 48 Chiefs games over his first four seasons, totaling 2,610 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns. After re-signing with Kansas City as a free agent last year, he did not see the field. He was released in December, finishing the season with the Saints.

Chuckwuebuka Godrick • T • 6-5 • 293 pounds

Hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, Godrick has been with the Chiefs since 2022 as the team’s International Pathway Program player. The Chiefs will again receive a practice squad roster exemption for Godrick, which allows them to sign a 17th player to the unit. During his third preseason with the team, Godrick played 78 offensive snaps.

C.J. Hanson • G • 6-5 • 300 pounds

Hanson stuck on the Chiefs’ 53-man roster all of last season after being a seventh-round pick out of Holy Cross. But despite extensive preseason action, he did not make Tuesday’s cut. Hanson’s only regular-season action came in last year’s Week 18 contest against the Denver Broncos, when the Chiefs rested most starters.

Jimmy Holiday • WR • 6-1 • 211 pounds

Holiday took the hard road from Louisiana Tech to Kansas City by impressing as a rookie minicamp invitee and earning a contract. He was last seen impressing during the team’s final preseason game against the Chicago Bears, hauling in a 50-yard reception from quarterback Chris Oladokun.

Kevin Knowles • CB • 5-11 • 190 pounds

A rookie free agent out of Florida State, Knowles also made his presence known in the Chiefs’ preseason game against the Bears, blocking an extra-point attempt in the second half. Knowles played in 50 games for the Seminoles over the past four seasons.

Brodric Martin • DT • 6-5 • 326 pounds

The Detroit Lions drafted Martin out of Western Kentucky in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft (96th overall). The Chiefs actually hosted him for a Top 30 visit before that draft. Injuries limited Martin to only five games played over his first two seasons in Detroit. The Lions waived him on Tuesday.

Chris Oladokun • QB • 6-1 • 213 pounds

Oladokun was a 2022 seventh-round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers. After being waived out of his rookie training camp, he has been on Kansas City’s practice squad for almost all of the past three seasons. The South Dakota State product did finally see his first regular-season action during Week 18 in Denver last season, though he did not attempt a pass. Oladokun was credited with a rushing attempt for five yards.

Zacch Pickens • DT • 6-3 • 303 pounds

The Bears drafted Pickens in the third round (64th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft, though he was waived in this year’s final cuts. In 26 games over the past two seasons, Pickens has totaled 39 combined tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Jammie Robinson • S • 5-11 • 195 pounds

Robinson was a 2023 fifth-round selection out of Florida State by the Carolina Panthers. He played 21 games in Carolina over the past two seasons, including a pair of starts in his rookie campaign. The Panthers waived Robinson in December and the Arizona Cardinals claimed him. He was released in Arizona’s final cuts on Tuesday. During his sophomore season at Florida State, Robinson recorded four interceptions.

Melvin Smith Jr. • CB • 6-1 • 185 pounds

Hailing from tiny Southern Arkansas, the Chiefs hosted Smith on a Top 30 visit before this season’s draft. Interest in this small-school sleeper came after a strong showing against more established competition at the Senior Bowl — combined with a 4.39-second 40-yard dash time at his Pro Day. Smith played 36 preseason defensive snaps for Kansas City.

Tyreke Smith • DE • 6-3 • 255 pounds

Smith was a fifth-round selection for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. But after playing in 39 games for Ohio State, he has had a difficult time finding his NFL footing after missing his rookie season with an injury. His second season was split between the Seahawks and the Cardinals before he spent 2024 back in Seattle on its practice squad. Smith has been credited with one tackle in three career game appearances in 2023.

Carson Steele • FB • 6-0 • 228 pounds

Steele joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 draft, playing in all 17 regular-season games before missing this season’s cut. He finished his rookie campaign with 56 rushing attempts for 183 yards, adding 26 receiving yards on seven catches. In the league’s new kickoff formation, he was frequently lined up as the second return man — mostly as a blocker. Still, he returned five kickoffs for 138 yards.

Marlon Tuipulotu • DT • 6-2 • 307 pounds

A 2021 sixth-round draft selection by the Philadelphia Eagles, Tuipulotu joined the Chiefs last August and appeared in a pair of games for the 2024 squad. After re-signing with Kansas City in March, he did not make this year’s team. In 30 career games played, Tuipulotu has totaled 47 tackles and three sacks.

Tre Watson • TE • 6-5 • 250 pounds

An undrafted free agent from Texas A&M, Watson had a late start to Kansas City’s training camp after beginning on the team’s physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list. He played 41 preseason offensive snaps for the Chiefs. While his college stats never show a 400-yard receiving season between Fresno State and College Station, Watson’s Pro Day 4.68-second 40-yard dash time — combined with a 35-inch vertical jump — imply intriguing athleticism for the position.

Wide receiver Hal Presley, defensive tackle Coziah Izzard and tight end Robert Tonyan were announced on Wednesday as practice squad additions. The Chiefs added Downs, Edwards-Helaire, Martin, Pickens, and Robinson on Thursday. To make room, Presley and Izzard were released from the practice squad on Thursday, while Tonyan was signed to the 53-man roster.

While larger practice squads and expanded elevation rules have provided veteran depth and player development that was previously not possible for practice squads, these units’ primary purpose remains the same: assembling scout teams that resemble upcoming opponents.

Players are added and dropped from the practice squad frequently as practice needs change. Wide receiver Nikko Remigio appeared on the 2024 initial practice squad list, and the third-year pro making this season’s 53-man active roster is a testament to the unit’s developmental potential.