DeAndre Washington’s promotion raises questions about Darwin Thompson

The Chiefs’ promotion of DeAndre Washington raises questions about Darwin Thompson.

On Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs decided to swap players on the practice squad and the active roster with the release and re-signing of wide receiver Marcus Kemp (to the squad) and the promotion of running back DeAndre Washington.

The promotion is an interesting one because it signals a curiosity on the part of the Chiefs to see what Washington, a familiar scatback from years with the rival Oakland Raiders, can do in Andy Reid‘s offense.

Washington joined the Chiefs this past offseason on a cheap one-year deal that, as Yates notes above, reunited superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes with his former teammate at Texas Tech.

Given the low-level investment ($910K) involved, expectations for Washington were minimal coming into the season. He played sparingly for the Raiders over the years, and it was presumed that Washington would compete for the same scatback role he played in Oakland. It was a bit surprising that he was unable to win a roster spot after Damien Williams opted out, but without a preseason, the Chiefs went with faces familiar to them in Thompson and Darrel Williams behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

At this point, Washington could be a potential replacement for Thompson and that’s where things get interesting. Thompson had some key miscues two weeks ago against the Baltimore Ravens—some of the only concerns from that entire performance as a team—and last week received zero snaps. Was it a punishment? Is Washington’s promotion also tied to things? Is Thompson really in the doghouse?

The Chiefs loved Thompson’s potential as a late-round pick out of Utah State, and he’s an incredibly tough runner who has flashed obvious potential in his first year-plus with the Chiefs. There’s a lot to like, in other words, about Thompson and it’s important for a player to know he can learn from his mistakes.

That said, it only takes a look back to last season to see two things. First, Thompson has had fumble issues before. Second, the Chiefs pulled the short leash of LeSean McCoy for the same reason. He was never given the same opportunities again despite being the most dynamic running back overall on the team.

Washington is not guaranteed anything moving forward. Remember every week, there are five players who are on the active roster who are inactive on game day, and even those on the active roster aren’t assured of any snaps. However it is interesting to consider what the Chiefs might be thinking as they change things up in the backfield.