The Kansas City Chiefs have made a pair of moves on the practice squad ahead of Week 1 of the NFL season.
The team has officially signed S James Wiggins after hosting him on a successful tryout on Monday. A former seventh-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2021, Wiggins spent a portion of last season on the practice squad and then was elevated to the active roster in Arizona. He finished the year on injured reserve with a knee injury. Wiggins was released during 53-man roster cuts this season, mostly due to the Cardinals having good depth at safety.
Wiggins was a former teammate of Chiefs rookie S Bryan Cook at the University of Cincinnati. They spent two seasons together, though Cook was ineligible to play for one of those seasons. If healthy, Wiggins has the potential to be a contributor in Kansas City, especially on special teams.
In order to make room for Wiggins on the practice squad, the Chiefs released DE Azur Kamara. The former Kansas Jayhawk was a late addition to the offseason roster this year, but had a solid preseason in Kansas City with one sack and four total pressures. Unfortunately, with six defensive ends already on the 53-man roster, Kamara’s spot on the practice squad became somewhat expendable for the Chiefs.
The team still hasn’t made a corresponding move on the 53-man roster with Blake Bell heading to injured reserve. It’s possible that they might wait until after the first week of the season as a mechanism to avoid guaranteeing a contract of a vested player. The Chiefs can still elevate two players from the practice squad via standard elevation for Week 1 if necessary so that they have a full slate of players to choose from.
