Rashee Rice isn’t the only reinforcement on the way for the Kansas City Chiefs, with 3 players eligible to return beginning this week
The Kansas City Chiefs have three players eligible to return to practice beginning this week if they so choose.
While third-year WR Rashee Rice is the most notable reinforcement on the way for the Kansas City Chiefs, the team actually has three players now eligible to return to action as early as Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Players who began the 2025 NFL season on the Physically Unable to Perform, Non-Football Injury, or Injured Reserve (designated to return) lists are officially eligible to have their 21-day practice window opened, following the conclusion of Week 4 on Monday night. Teams aren’t required to activate those players, but if they’re healthy and can participate in practice, they can be designated to do so. At that point, teams will have a three-week window to decide whether to activate the players to the 53-man roster or to put them on season-ending injured reserve.
The Chiefs had three such players start the 2025 NFL season on reserve lists, and how they navigate that remains to be seen.
Chiefs OT Ethan Driskell is now eligible to return from the Reserve/NFI list
A former 2024 undrafted free agent out of Marshall, Chiefs second-year OT Ethan Driskell had an appendectomy during training camp and the preseason that kept him out of action for the most critical time of the offseason.
Driskell spent the entire 2024 NFL season on the active roster, mainly in a reserve capacity. It’s clear the Chiefs had plans for Driskell in the future, but it’s unclear just how much this non-football issue derailed those plans. We’re not sure how much time he’ll need to get right, but I’d be surprised to see him activated hastily sans an injury at the offensive tackle position.
Chiefs CB Nazeeh Johnson’s return eligibility could spark a trade for Kansas City
Chiefs fourth-year CB Nazeeh Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in preseason Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, landing him on injured reserve with a return designation. The Chiefs are one of the deeper teams at the cornerback position with the emergence of Nohl Williams, so much so that veteran CB Josh Williams has strictly been a special teams player early on in the season.
If Johnson is healthy enough to return from his shoulder injury, that could prompt the Chiefs to look for potential suitors for a player like Josh Williams, who would almost certainly be starting for other defenses around the league. The New England Patriots were rumored to have been looking at Tennessee Titans CB Jarvis Brownlee before he was shipped off to the New York Jets. Could they be suitors?
Chiefs rookie TE Jake Briningstool is eligible to return from injured reserve
A coveted undrafted free agent out of Clemson, Chiefs rookie TE Jake Briningstool suffered a hamstring injury just days into training camp. He attempted to return ahead of the final preseason game, only to miss that game due to the injury as well. This will be a unique situation for Kansas City, given that it has a logjam at tight end behind Travis Kelce.
Briningstool was one of the Chiefs’ more impressive rookies in the early goings at OTAs, but he didn’t get much action this offseason because of injury. If the Chiefs believe Briningstool is healthy enough to return and make an impact, they could opt to release a player like Robert Tonyan to make room. Tonyan is eligible for a veteran spot on the practice squad. He’s played 35 snaps on offense and 27 snaps on special teams so far this season.
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