Kansas City Chiefs’ big 2025 free agent acquisition finally showed what he’s capable of — and it could be a massive development for 2026
Chiefs CB Kristian Fulton had the game that fans in Kansas City have been waiting for.
It took seventeen weeks, but we’re now finally seeing what the Kansas City Chiefs saw in Kristian Fulton when they signed him to a two-year deal worth $20 million in March’s free agency period.
Fulton had appeared in just six games this season, with no more than 46 defensive snaps in a single game before Week 17’s game against the Denver Broncos. The 26-year-old started off training camp on the PUP list due to an offseason knee cleanup surgery, which put him behind the eight ball to start the year. He ultimately made it back before the start of the season, but things were quickly derailed when he suffered an ankle injury in Week 2’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. In the period that he was out, Nohl Williams emerged as one of the NFL’s best young cornerbacks, which put him even further behind the curve.
With Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie now on injured reserve, it was the perfect opportunity for Fulton to come alive, and that’s precisely what he did. It all started at the end of the first quarter when he popped up a ball, which Nick Bolton intercepted.
“It felt like this was the first game I played this season,” Fulton told reporters in the locker room.
Fulton made multiple other standout plays during the game, contributing to a pass breakup on Courtland Sutton in the endzone and nearly making a red zone interception himself.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid says what needed to be said about Kristian Fulton’s Week 17 game
There’s been plenty of public criticism of Fulton’s lack of playing time, given the financial investment Chiefs GM Brett Veach made in the offseason. It wasn’t a coaching decision made haphazardly, but one made because Fulton wasn’t ready to play.
“Yeah, so I thought he played like he was healthy,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said. “Brett (Veach) brought him in here knowing that he was a good football player, but he hadn’t been able to stay healthy, so he was able to get himself in a position now where he’s feeling better, football-wise, and get himself out there and play, but that’s what he’s capable of doing.”
That’s what the team had expected from the start, knowing he had some injuries to overcome. It just took longer than they hoped for him to get back and be integrated into Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. Still, if Fulton can build on this performance in Week 18, it could give the Chiefs some much-needed flexibility at the position in the second year of his contract in 2026.
This could be a massive development for the Chiefs in 2026
Before Week 17’s game, those eyeballing the Chiefs’ challenging salary cap situation saw Kristian Fulton as an apparent salary cap casualty. Releasing him would incur an $8 million dead-money charge but clear $5 million in salary-cap space. Now, he’s looking like someone who could realistically contribute as a starter if former 2022 NFL Draft pick Jaylen Watson were to walk in free agency. It also gives them flexibility if they were to shop a player at the position, Trent McDuffie, who is on an affordable fifth-year option and could fetch as much or more than a first-round draft pick.
The big question is, can you trust that he can stay healthy based on his performance in Week 17 and the one forthcoming in Week 18? That’s the question the Chiefs will have to ask themselves and decide whether they are willing to take that risk.
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