Former Chiefs WR Byron Pringle finds a home for the 2024 season

Pringle is headed for his seventh NFL season, an impressive feat for a former UDFA.

It's considered to be an impressive turn of events when a rookie free agent somehow finds his way onto the active roster of an NFL team. That's even more true when that same undrafted player sticks around for a year or two. All of which makes Byron Pringle's career an amazing outlier in a league where longevity is hard to find.

Pringle came to terms on a one-year deal with the Washington Commanders on Wednesday, per NFL reporter Ian Rapoport. It will be his second season with the team and it's an interesting return despite the fact that former Chiefs coordinator Eric Bieniemy is no longer with the franchise.

Pringle first entered the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs as a priority free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft. The former Kansas State product impressed coaches enough to earn a deal, but a preseason injury allowed the team to stash him away on injured reserve in order to return and compete for a roster spot in 2019.

Pringle would not only make the active roster in 2019 but he'd play in every game as a core special teams player who also slowly worked his way up the depth chart at receiver. While Pringle was never a go-to target for Patrick Mahomes in the Chiefs offense, he was a reliable auxiliary target who earned more targets each season—maxing out at 60 in 2021.

After finishing out his rookie contract, the Chicago Bears came calling with an opportunity to re-join head coach Matt Nagy, a former offensive coach with the Chiefs. Pringle was one-and-done in Chicago after an injury-shortened season limited him to 11 games.

The Commanders would offer Pringle a home in '23 and linked back up with former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who came to the nation's capital to serve in the same capacity. Pringle had only 14 catches on 22 targets in 17 games before the team cleaned house this offseason and ushered in a new coaching staff, front office, and starting quarterback.

Pringle has 91 catches for 1,194 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns in six seasons in the NFL.