After a half-season sitting on the sidelines for both players, the Kansas City Chiefs are going to give cornerback Kristian Fulton and running back Elijah Mitchell a chance to actually play some meaningful snaps coming out of the bye.
The Chiefs had some much-needed time off in Week 10, giving the coaching staff a chance to figure out what went wrong in the first half, where they went 5-4. Coming out of the bye in third place in the AFC West, K.C.'s first scheduled game is a Week 11 tilt on the road against the Denver Broncos, who sit in first place.
As part of the adjustments made in order to climb in the standings (and back into the playoff picture in the conference), the Chiefs have decided to keep Fulton and Mitchell active on game day. For Fulton, it's his first reps since Week 2 despite being healthy for the defense. For Mitchell, it's his first snaps of 2025.
The Chiefs signed Fulton to a two-year deal in free agency worth up to $20 million. The assumption was that Fulton would secure a boundary starter spot opposite Jaylen Watson, which would allow Trent McDuffie to slide inside for plenty of snaps. Instead, Fulton struggled to stay healthy for nearly all of training camp, and the Chiefs grew comfortable with Nohl Williams in an emerging role in Fulton's place. On game days, Fulton remained inactive while the Chiefs kept Joshua Williams available for special teams reps.
The Chiefs are finally giving Kristian Fulton and Elijah Mitchell a chance to make an impact on game day.
Mitchell was also one of general manager Brett Veach's free-agent acquisitions last spring, a one-year flyer taken on a veteran who hadn't been healthy for the majority of his NFL career. However, Mitchell once set rookie franchise rushing records for the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, and the Chiefs were hoping he would add some dynamism in a committee approach.
Once training camp broke, however, the Chiefs landed with a primary tandem of Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco, with rookie Brashard Smith getting some occasional reps. Mitchell has been a healthy player on the sidelines for the first nine weeks. When Pacheco was injured in Week 8, it looked as if Mitchell might get his shot in a game against the Buffalo Bills before the bye. However, K.C. decided to promote Clyde Edwards-Helaire from the practice squad instead.
While the decisions to keep Fulton and Mitchell from playing on game days have been questionable for Kansas City until now, both players should be fresh and motivated against the Broncos to prove they can make a difference down the stretch. Given the two-game deficit in the division, Week 11 would be an ideal time for either player to make a statement—or even a meaningful contribution.