Three days after Josh Caldwell scored for his hometown team, the Chiefs released him and brought on a new tight end candidate.
Josh Caldwell lived a childhood dream on Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium. On Tuesday, he won’t even be allowed inside of it.
The Kansas City Chiefs announced the release of running back Josh Caldwell for the sake of creating roster space for tight end Manasseh Garner.
Caldwell signed with the Chiefs this offseason as a rookie free agent from Lee’s Summit who went to Northwest Missouri State through the 2018 season. The Chiefs signed him after local tryout days left them impressed enough to add the 5’11, 220 lb. back to an already crowded roster.
Fortunately Caldwell had his moment to shine before being let go by his favorite team. On Saturday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, Caldwell led the Chiefs in rushing with 4 carries for 59 yards including this 47-yard run in which he showed his ability to break tackles and stay on his feet:
Breaking ALL the tackles.@Chiefs RB Josh Caldwell picks up 47! #CINvsKC pic.twitter.com/N2oDcifGJ1
— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2019
Caldwell would also add a rushing touchdown to his impressive night.
As for his replacement, Garner is back for his second stint with the team after originally signing with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent back in 2015. In that time, he’s spent time on several rosters all around the NFL (and even some outside of it). It’s a list that includes the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins and even the Brooklyn Bolts from an failed experimental league that folded in 2016.
As for his skill set, he might be listed as a tight end, but Garner’s signing should read more into John Lovett’s health status than anything else. Garner has a similar skill set in his ability to play h-back, tight end, fullback, and wideout. He’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades who even played defensive end for a bit in college at Wisconsin.