The Kansas City Chiefs have officially elevated two players before their Monday Night Football matchup against the Denver Broncos to kick off the season and end the NFL's Week 1 slate. Like all promotions from the practice squad, both players will be active game-day options for the Chiefs—two players who can technically play without having to have been on the actual active roster entering the game.
Specifically, the Chiefs promoted fullback Ben VanSumeren and defensive tackle Marcus Harris. Every player on a team's practice squad is given three elevations in a season before they must be placed on the active roster (in order to play). Otherwise, they must remain on the taxi squad. This means both players have two more activations this season going into Week 2.
Why Marcus Harris' promotion is well-timed
The use of a roster promotion for Harris is not a surprise. First, the Chiefs would be wise to use up his elevations early in the year while last season's second-round pick, defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, is on the mend. Norman-Lott is currently on the physically unable to play list, which means he can't start practicing until at least after Week 2 and he can't join the active roster until after Week 4. That leaves the Chiefs short on the defensive interior while he's away.
Making things even more interesting in the heart of the defensive front is the listing of Chris Jones on the injury report late in the week. Jones had been healthy for all of training camp, but a calf injury kept him out of practice over the weekend. Head coach Andy Reid said his star tackle should be fine, however, and the fact that he has no official injury designation on the injury report backs up that positive notion.
Overall, however, Jones's recent calf injury to go with Norman-Lott's continued absence, and the fact that newly signed Bryson Eason is still learning the ropes all come together to make Harris's arrival a well-timed one.
What Ben VanSumeren's arrival means
The more intriguing development is VanSumeren's promotion to the game-day roster. One of the more pressing questions for Chiefs critics was about the potential use of the rebuilt running backs room this offseason. Even if general manager Brett Veach went to all the trouble to sign Kenneth Walker and draft Emmett Johnson, would Reid actually use them and give the ground game a real emphasis. Perhaps the Chiefs have their answer.
VanSumeren's presence on the roster in a fullback capacity is notable, even positionally speaking, because the Chiefs have abandoned the role since Michael Burton was on the roster—back in 2021-22. The inclusion of VanSumeren is another indicator that the Chiefs' offense is going to lean on the rejuvenated run game.
With Patrick Mahomes making his debut after tearing knee ligaments nine months ago, and with the shaky situation at offensive tackle (with Josh Simmons out with a back injury), it would make sense to lean on the dominant interior of Creed Humphrey and company and make Denver respect the backfield early. VanSumeren's usage will be interesting to see, but the lack of Kareem Hunt on the roster in '26 at least gives him short-yardage importance.
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