Not only were Kansas City Chiefs players back to practice on Wednesday ahead of their scheduled home game against the New York Jets in Week 9, but the team brought in several new faces to Arrowhead—for at least one day.
The Chiefs hosted nine players across three positions to try out for the franchise, and they ended up signing one right off the bat: wide receiver Jacob de Jesus. If that name already sounds familiar, that's because de Jesus originally signed with Kansas City shortly after going unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Let's take a closer look at the positions that the Chiefs were looking at, each player that they considered, and the return of de Jesus.
Jacob de Jesus is back in Kansas City
That the Chiefs went with the known commodity is not all that surprising with de Jesus. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub spoke highly of de Jesus twice in training camp and said, "I’m excited to see him. He’s a great catcher, and he’s got a lot of hunger to him. It’s going to be exciting when he has the ball in his hands."
The most widely known fact about de Jesus is that he led college football with an incredible 108 catches in 2025 at Cal after playing two previous seasons at UNLV. While he didn't make it to the active roster to start the year, the fact that he's back on the practice squad means the team couldn't move on from the idea of having him around.
Other wideouts trying out for the Chiefs
The Chiefs aren't exactly overflowing with quality receivers, so it's good to see them considering a trio of players this week.
Bub Means is probably the most recognizable, a former Saints fifth-round pick (2024) who had 9 catches for 118 yards and 1 touchdown in a half season before hitting injured reserve as a rookie. He was on the Browns practice squad earlier this year.
Justin Shorter was the Buffalo Bills fifth-round choice in 2023 but was sidelined with injury for his rookie campaign. He has 17 special team appearances in the last couple of years with the Raiders.
Jalen Walthall is the lone rookie, an undrafted free agent from Incarnate Word with 155 catches and 22 touchdowns over the last two years there after transferring from Hawaii. He earned summer stints with the Texans and Jets before taking a visit with Kansas City.
Chiefs searching for defensive back reinforcements
With L'Jarius Sneed on injured reserve and Mansoor Delane dealing with a shoulder injury in recent days, it's not surprising to see the Chiefs at least keeping their contacts fresh at defensive back, just in case further help is needed. The team also just released veteran Kader Kohou, so perhaps they're interested in someone younger to help on special teams.
No matter the reason, the Chiefs had four defensive backs hanging around on Wednesday. Two of them—Alex Austin and Dan Jackson—were former seventh-round selections in their respective draft classes and two others—Roman Parodie and Jalen Kimber—entered the NFL as priority free agents. Austin is the most experienced, with 29 total appearances with the Houston Texans and New England Patriots from 2023-25.
A veteran signing at defensive tackle?
The most experienced player of the lot of free agents at Arrowhead was defensive tackle Jay Tufele. He's been a journeyman lineman for the last half-decade after originally being drafted in the fourth round in 2021 by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played in 12 games for the New York Jets a year ago and spent his offseason with the Detroit Lions.
Tufele left town without a contract offer, at least for now. But his inclusion in the group is notable because the only player missing in practice was rookie Peter Woods. If Woods' neck stinger turns into a long-term concern, then Tufele is a veteran who could provide insurance beyond Marcus Harris on the practice squad.
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