Will Chiefs make a move for tight end Kendall Blanton?

It was only a week ago that the Kansas City Chiefs tipped their hand a bit when it came to their interest in tight end Kendall Blanton. According to NFL reporter Field Yates, the Chiefs were one of multiple teams to put in a waiver claim for Blanton when he was first released by the Los Angeles Rams earlier this month.

As it turns out, the Chiefs might have another chance to grab Blanton with his release on Tuesday from the Washington Commanders.

The Commanders won the waiver claim on Blanton last week given their higher positioning based on standings from last season. The Chiefs, as a more successful team, are going to get beat on most waiver claims, but Blanton’s re-release might allow him to slip lower with so many other players made available on the NFL’s transaction wire.

The Kansas City Chiefs exhibited interest in Kendall Blanton last week when he was available and how he’s on the waiver wire once again.

Blanton is a local product who graduated from Blue Springs South and then attended Missouri. He wasn’t selected in the 2019 NFL Draft but he earned a rookie free agent deal from the Rams and climbed the depth chart enough to start in place of Tyler Higbee in the postseason. He would spend all of 2020 on the team’s practice squad but earned a promotion in 2021 enough to play on special teams and offense both in 11 games.

The Chiefs have plenty of tight ends on paper right now, so it’s interesting to think about how the position would shake out with another name in the picture. Travis Kelce is the obvious starter with Noah Gray and Jody Fortson penciled in as backups. Blake Bell is the best blocker of the bunch, and he must remain on the active roster while injured in order to be placed on IR with a chance to return in 2022. Blanton would only further crowd a room that includes Matt Bushman, who had 2 touchdowns in the team’s final exhibition against the Packers, and Jordan Franks.

Bushman does have a fractured clavicle and Bell needed surgery on his hip, so it’s possible the Chiefs are looking to keep four tight ends on the roster and/or are enamored enough with Blanton’s potential that they’d shift things to include him.