Chiefs news: Tight end Daniel Helm claimed on waivers from 49ers

The Chiefs submitted a successful waiver claim on TE Daniel Helm.

One day after the San Francisco 49ers released tight end Daniel Helm, the Kansas City Chiefs submitted a successful waiver claim in order to add him to their own roster.

Helm is a 6’4, 245 lb. tight end who played collegiately at Duke University and signed with the Los Angeles Chargers after the 2019 NFL Draft. The Niners held on to Helm on the practice squad for the majority of the year and he was even elevated to the active roster late in the year, although he remained inactive.

While a player at Duke, Helm put up modest numbers for the Blue Devils offense. He had seasons of 21, 22, and 26 catches during his sophomore through senior seasons with 2 touchdowns each year.

Helm suffered from a lack of opportunities with the Niners as a position that was fairly crowded. In Kansas City, Helm is unlikely to earn much more attention than he did before, but with Deon Yelder sitting out practice due to injury, it makes sense that the Chiefs front office would want to get a closer look at another tight end candidate in case of emergency.

Remember that every team keeps a board of emergency players at each position in case something happens—e.g. an injury—and they have to make a quick signing. Veach and company are likely doing their homework on Helm and others for this very task, especially given how strange this upcoming season is likely to be due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After Travis Kelce, the Chiefs have Yelder, Ricky Seals-Jones and Nick Keizer on the roster.