Deon Yelder earns qualifying offer from Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are guaranteed to bring back Deon Yelder to the team’s roster for another year by extending a qualifying offer.

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to guarantee that several pieces of their Super Bowl winning roster will return for at least one more season with the news that exclusive rights free agent Deon Yelder is back for another year. By extending him a qualifying offer, per Nate Taylor of The Athletic, Yelder is back to compete for a spot at tight end behind starter Travis Kelce.

Yelder is the Chiefs latest project at the tight end position. A 6’4, 255 lb. athlete, Yelder played basketball in high school before giving football a try during his junior season. Western Kentucky was pleased enough with the results to come calling with an offer to play at the collegiate level, and from there, the NFL came calling after an 8 touchdown senior season with the Hilltoppers.

The New Orleans Saints first signed Yelder as an undrafted free agent, but he was released from the team’s practice squad one month into the 2018 season. The Chiefs nabbed Yelder at that point and it wasn’t long until he was a regular contributor on the active roster.

In 2019, Yelder further cemented his spot by appearing in 9 games and catching his first NFL passes ever. He had 3 total catches for 50 yards, most of which came against the Detroit Lions early in the year. He also caught a single pass against the Houston Texans in the postseason.

Before Yelder’s arrival, the Chiefs went through other former basketball players turned tight ends like Demetrius Harris and Ross Travis. Given that Blake Bell is an unrestricted free agent it’s possible that Yelder competes for the TE2 role on the Chiefs roster.