After being blown out in Super Bowl 59, there's little doubt tht Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is likely to shake some things up following the 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
That means that some Chiefs players have reached the official end of their careers with the Kansas City Chiefs. While many will catch on elsewhere, their times in red and gold will cease as the team's front office responds to roster needs, financial shuffling, and future considerations.
Given the Chiefs' predilection for retaining their own, fans should expect to see more familiar faces back in 2025 than what most teams might retain. That also makes it quite difficult to say a particular player definitely won't be back in 2025 (especially since I never thought Jody Fortson would be back this season).
That said, if we wanted to stay close to the trunk of the tree and not go out on the proverbial ledge, we can come up with at least three players who are safe bets not to return to K.C. in 2025.
Joshua Uche, DL
Let's be honest: the acquisition of Uche is one of the most head-scratching moves in recent Chiefs history, so this is perhaps the most obvious non-returnee of the bunch.
For the sake of review, the Chiefs dealt for Uche before the NFL's trade deadline with a vision to bolster the pass rush that was lacking a real push (and a speed element in the mix). Uche's skill set looked like a great fit in Steve Spagnuolo's quiver, and the move was celebrated by most analysts. Uche himself sounded excited after the trade.
Then came, well, nothing. Playing time was nil and it wasn't long until Uche was completely inactive on game days—a perfectly healthy scratch who was basically told that he was of no use to the team when lesser talents were still earning reps.
The former second-round talent has to be very frustrated with his use rate in K.C. because it certainly doesn't help his free agent stock to have sat for so long on a team with a clear need. Still with his draft pedigree, relative youth, and previous production should help him find a new job rather easily—even if it's likely at a discount rate.
D.J. Humphries
Hey, speaking of in-season acquisitions that failed to work out as hoped, this feels like a good time to bring up D.J. Humphries' name.
In late November, Humphries' representatives made it known that he was finally healthy after suffering a torn ACL while playing for the Arizona Cardinals late in the 2023 season. Humphries even earned a visit with the New York Giants in October, but the moment he was declared healthy, it was the Chiefs who were there waiting with a free-agent deal in hand.
Once Humphries arrived, the hope was that he would slowly work his way into being the answer at left tackle in time to take care of Patrick Mahomes' blindside through the NFL postseason. Instead, he was sidelined by a hamstring injury upon arriving and he could never quite prove himself to be better than the makeshift decision to move Joe Thuney to left tackle instead.
Given the presence of Wanya Morris and Kingsley Suamataia as young competitors vying for reps in 2024 and the likelihood of another high-level draft investment at the position, it feels pretty easy to say Humphries won't be back for another season in K.C.
Steven Nelson
Technically, Steven Nelson is on the practice squad, but the roster is the roster and the offseason version is 90 men strong, so we feel okay bringing Nelson into this picture.
The Chiefs were enjoying quite the reunion tour in 2024 with the re-signings of so many former faces (e.g. Kareem Hunt, Jody Fortson), so it felt somewhat appropriate to see the team showcase an interest in bringing back Nelson down the stretch when facing some major secondary concerns in the wake of Jaylen Watson's injury and the resulting positional transitions.
Nelson had retired the previous June, but he returned to take another late-season run with K.C. However, a young secondary finally blossomed enough to keep Nelson on the sidelines and he remained on the practice squad for the duration.