Kansas City Chiefs swap defensive linemen on practice squad

The Kansas City Chiefs have swapped out defensive linemen on the practice squad with the signing of tackle Joey Ivie.

The Kansas City Chiefs announced a swap of defensive tackles on the practice squad on Tuesday evening with the signing of Joey Ivie and the release of Dee Liner.

The Chiefs had signed Liner to a rookie free agent deal shortly after the draft and decided to stash him back on the practice squad after he’d passed through waivers unclaimed on Saturday’s roster cuts. Liner was the heaviest player on the entire team by a good 10 to 15 pounds, and he was being groomed as a developmental tackle in the middle on obvious running downs.

Now the team is turning to Ivie to be that developmental player along the defensive front, although Ivie certainly lacks Liner’s girth, weighing in at “only” 295 pounds. Ivie was a seventh round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2017 NFL Draft but was waived before the season started. He then signed with the Atlanta Falcons and remained with them through June of this year. In addition to those teams, he’s also enjoyed a short stint with the Seattle Seahawks this summer

Ivie, a 23-year-old product from the University of Florida, earned high marks for his work ethic and motor out of college, but took hits in scouting reports for his lack of strength, size and length. Clearly the Chiefs see something in Ivie enough to clear the way for his arrival, so it will be interesting to see if he rewards their belief.