Kansas City Chiefs release defensive tackle T.J. Barnes

The Kansas City Chiefs have waived T.J. Barnes and Damariay Drew to make room for Cam Thomas and Keith Baxter.

One week after shocking the NFL with the release of Jeremy Maclin, the Kansas City Chiefs announced a couple roster moves on Friday that are unlikely to generate quite as much reaction. The team has released defensive tackle T.J. Barnes and safety Damariay Drew from the roster to make room for veteran defensive lineman Cam Thomas and defensive back Keith Baxter.

Barnes is a mammoth man at 6’7, 364 pounds ,and was the heaviest player on the Chiefs roster. Now that title belongs to defensive lineman Montori Hughes. Barnes was a 26-year-old veteran trying to find a long-term home to use his strength and size, but unfortunately he’s been unable to catch on in a number of places after entering the league with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2013.

Barnes has spent two stints with the Jaguars along with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in that period of time before finding a home with Kansas City last fall on the practice squad. The team even promoted him to the active roster in December, but clearly they’re going in another direction for this season. Barnes’ skill set and size are rare, however, and he should find another team willing to bring him to training camp soon enough.

Drew recently signed with the Chiefs in the last several days, so his stay was short lived. He’s coming off of an injury after fishing his college career at Cal in 2016.