Well Chiefs Kingdom, it finally happened. Jody Fortson a/k/a #FORTSZN is upon us. It was announced on cut down day that tight end Jody Fortson officially made the Chiefs 53-man roster.
Andy Reid on Jody Fortson: "He's earned the right to make that cut."
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) August 31, 2021
Fortson has been the apple of the Kingdom’s eye for multiple preseasons, but has never quite been able to make the cut for the Chiefs. However, his performance during training camp this year stood out as he had bulked up and showed a physicality that many thought easily earned him a spot.
Questions remained given the tight end room, with Travis Kelce clearly in as TE1, Blake Bell making the team as the best blocking tight end, and rookie Noah Gray having a huge upside. Was there room for Fortson on the active roster?
On Friday, when the Chiefs beat the Vikings, fans were given a little insight into Fortson’s status when the Chiefs ran a goal line play with all 4 tight ends on the field.
BELLDOZER THE BULLY 😤
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 28, 2021
📺: #MINvsKC on KSHB pic.twitter.com/6b1Y9yUmdo
The resulting touchdown gave Chiefs fans a lot to speculate about. Why put something like this on tape if you aren’t going to use it in the season? Does this mean Fortson is on the team? Well, we can all be happy now because Fortson is in and in his press conference, he made it clear how much this means to him.
Jody Fortson is noticeably moved by making the 53. Cool moment here on Zoom, which I've never thought before.
— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) August 31, 2021
"I put a lot of time into this, and there were a lot of days where I thought this wouldn't come, but I just kept working and here we are...It's been a long road."
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) August 31, 2021
- An emotional Jody Fortson on making the Chiefs' roster. What an awesome story.
In addition to visibly being moved, Fortson also detailed how he found out he made the active roster. Interestingly, it was QB1, Patrick Mahomes, who told him first and it took him a minute to figure out what was going on. It truly tells you how integral Mahomes is to the leadership on the team, but also shed light on how meaningful it was to Fortson.
His climb to this position has been an uphill battle, but the reward is finally here.
Jody Fortson says Patrick Mahomes was the first person to tell him he made the team
— Cody Tapp (@codybtapp) August 31, 2021
Jody Fortson: "There were a lot of days I thought this wouldn't come. ... It's been a long road, man. It's been a long road."
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) August 31, 2021
Well, the day is here. He is going to keep on grinding, keep on pushing, and hopefully we can see even more of Fortson as the season kicks off. In the meantime, we just keep cheering for a great story, for a great person, and we anxiously await the kickoff of the 2021 season.