The Kansas City Chiefs made Kevin Knowles available on waivers the day after the vast majority of roster cuts were announced. If they were hoping to somehow slip him by the NFL's processes with a sneaky bit of timing, they're out of luck.
After initially keeping him on the first iteration of the team's active roster, the Chiefs cut Knowles to make room for new waiver claims. Now, Knowles is gainfully employed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were awarded the second-year corner on Tuesday.
That Knowles made the Chiefs' active roster was surprising in the first place, because his inclusion gave the team 11 total defensive backs. After K.C. was awarded two defensive linemen, the Chiefs released Knowles and defensive tackle Marcus Harris. The former was claimed by at least one team (the Bucs) while Harris is now available for the Chiefs to send to the practice squad.
Perhaps the Bucs were glad to return the favor after watching the Chiefs claim defensive end Jack Pyburn the day before. Pyburn and San Francisco 49ers tackle Bryson Eason were added to the Chiefs defensive front, giving them four total rookies out of nine linemen.
Knowles joined the Chiefs in '25 as a rookie free agent out of Florida State, and he became a nice find in the secondary and a core-four performer on special teams. He appeared in 13 games, mostly on special teams, but had 15 tackles and 2 pass deflections in 82 defensive snaps for the Chiefs.
After a complete overhaul of the cornerback room this offseason, Knowles found things more crowded than before. Even competitors like Kader Kohou and Melvin Smith were let go, and Knowles followed suit on Tuesday. Now with the Bucs, he'll stay on a 53-man roster for S/T coordinator Danny Smith.
Add us as a preferred source on Google