Jeff Caldwell goes unclaimed on waivers and reverts to Kansas City Chiefs’ injured reserve; here’s what can happen next
Kansas City Chiefs WR Jeff Caldwell was waived with an injury designation and is now on injured reserve. What happens next for the talented undrafted free agent?
The Kansas City Chiefs took a calculated risk with UDFA WR Jeff Caldwell, waiving him from the 90-man offseason roster with an injury designation.
This came after Caldwell suffered a hyperextended knee during the final days of training camp practice. Caldwell was subject to the waiver wire, and 31 other NFL teams had a chance to claim him. The calculated risk seemed to pay off, with Caldwell going unclaimed on waivers and reverting to the team’s injured reserve list by rule.
So, what exactly comes next for Caldwell? Is his 2026 NFL season over? Will he remain with the Chiefs? The team and the player have a few different paths they can take.
What happens next for Chiefs WR Jeff Caldwell
The Chiefs are basically at a fork in the road for Caldwell. Three things can happen from here on out.
The first option to discuss is the injured-reserve stash. Caldwell can choose to stay on injured reserve for the entire 2026 NFL season. It will effectively be a redshirt season for him, where he can get healthy and turn his attention to 2027. This is usually the best option for long-term development, but it can also delay the inevitable. That happened last season with UDFA LB Brandon George. The Chiefs released George before 2026 OTAs even began.
The second option is to agree to an injury settlement and join another team once he’s healthy. The Chiefs have five days to offer Caldwell an injury settlement. They have to pay him for the games he’ll miss with his knee hyperextension. Then they would release him from injured reserve. At that point, he’d be allowed to sign with 31 other NFL teams, but would be unable to sign to the 53-man roster in Kansas City.
The third option is to agree to an injury settlement and return to the Chiefs once he’s healthy. You might be saying to yourself, “But wait, you just said he couldn’t do that?!” This is a loophole that NFL teams often use with players they really like. The Chiefs infamously did this with Gehrig Dieter in 2019, releasing him from IR and bringing him back on the practice squad.
Under this method, the player has to wait a bit longer to rejoin the team. It’s not just the period of games he’s expected to be out with his injury. It’s that plus three weeks. So, if Caldwell is expected to be out through Week 6, he wouldn’t be able to re-sign with the practice squad until Week 9. After he rejoins the practice squad, he can be elevated to the 53-man roster through standard elevation or signed to the roster.
The Chiefs and the player have options; it simply comes down to the severity of the knee hyperextension.
