The Kansas City Chiefs signed two players after the conclusion of mandatory minicamp, which also meant two corresponding roster cuts would be coming at some point.
Those follow-up moves for revealed on Friday, June 20, as KSHB 41 beat reporter Nick Jacobs relayed them on X.
“The Chiefs have waived [tight end] Kevin Foelsch & released [guard] Tremayne Anchrum,” Jacobs noted, adding that the two reported signings also became official.
Tremayne Anchrum & Kevin Foelsch Miss the Minicamp Cut After Brief Chiefs Audition
Neither of these roster cuts was with Kansas City for a long time.
Anchrum first signed to the 90-man roster on May 16. He’s a former seventh-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams who appeared in 33 NFL games, including the postseason.
Anchrum will be 27 years old on June 24. After spending his first four campaigns with the Rams from 2020 through 2023, the veteran offensive lineman bounced around the league with brief stints inside the Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans’ organizations.
New undrafted rookie interior offensive lineman Joey Lombard essentially took Anchrum’s spot during his minicamp tryout.
Foelsch spent even less time with the Chiefs, having just signed on June 11.
The former Philadelphia Eagles undrafted rookie has never appeared in a regular-season game, but he did suit up for all three Eagles preseason outings last summer. Per Football Database, Foelsch caught 3 of his 6 targets during the preseason, racking up 17 yards through the air.
For all intents and purposes, the Chiefs brought in Foelsch and Geor’Quarius Spivey for minicamp to compete for a depth role at tight end, and the latter won said competition. Spivey’s reward, similar to Lombard, will be an opportunity at training camp — assuming KC doesn’t make any more changes before that.
Chiefs Continue to Employ Deep Tight End Room
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid loves his tight ends. As of June 20, he’ll carry seven tight ends heading into training camp, and one of them has been mysteriously absent for most of the spring.
UDFA rookie Tre Watson has not been present for many of the media-open practices during OTAs and minicamp. If his name were Travis Kelce, this wouldn’t be a huge deal, but it’s rare that you see undrafted rookies miss any practices unless they’re injured.
Watson may be hurt, but KC hasn’t said much about his status either way. For now, he’ll remain with the 90-man roster despite the lack of early reps.
Along with Kelce, Watson and Spivey, the tight end unit includes second-stringer Noah Gray, second-year draft pick Jared Wiley (recovering from a torn ACL), veteran Robert Tonyan and standout undrafted rookie Jake Briningstool.
This should be a fun and competitive area of the roster to watch come training camp.
NFL Insider Highlights Chiefs’ Tight End Battle Ahead of Training Camp, Calls Jake Briningstool ‘Summer Dark Horse’
Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer agreed with that last statement while answering a fan’s mailbag question on June 18.
“Chiefs’ tight ends,” Breer began, while highlighting several “skill player camp battles” that he is excited about.
“No, Travis Kelce didn’t reverse course on his retirement decision—he’s still playing,” the insider joked. “However, how they use and pace him through the season is an open question.”
“So Noah Gray, who got an extension last year, could get more work,” he continued. “Aaron Rodgers’s old buddy Robert Tonyan is there. And rookie Jake Briningstool is shaping up as a summer dark horse to carve out a role in the offense.”
Strap in, folks, no one does tight end battles quite like the Chiefs.
