The Kansas City Chiefs decided to clear up the competition at wideout.
On Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs decided to clarify the competition at wide receiver a bit by releasing two undrafted free agents who were vying for competition.
Both Aleva Hifo and Andre Baccellia were placed on waivers by the team in order to create room on the roster for a familiar face in Marcus Kemp. The Chiefs signed Kemp earlier this week after hosting him for a free agent visit.
The move to bring back Kemp created greater competition for the final spots on the depth chart at wide receiver given his experience. Hifo and Baccellia were at a major disadvantage along with Maurice Ffrench and Vanderbilt alumni Kalija Lipscomb and Justice Shelton-Mosely as rookie free agents in camp. The Chiefs have Gehrig Dieter, Byron Pringle, Jody Fortson and now Kemp in camp that are much more familiar to a coaching staff in an preseason without games.
Hifo earned interest from the Arizona Cardinals for a brief spell after the Chiefs released him at the beginning of the preseason, but he then re-signed with K.C. a short while later. The former BYU slot receiver and returner will now hope his top speed earns him a chance to make another team.
As for Baccellia, the former Washington wideout profiles as a similar player to Hifo in that he’s a smallish receiver with return ability and speed for days. He’s also dealing with questions about his size and strength with limited production in college. Both players could remain on the Chiefs radar given any future injuries, especially as teams now have 16 slots on the practice squad at their disposal.