Breaking: Familiar Face Returns Back to Kansas City: Chiefs Bring Back Surprise plater to Practice Squad

The Kansas City Chiefs announced a couple of minor moves to the team’s roster—specifically the Chiefs’ practice squad—as the rest of the NFL either turned its eyes toward the Wild Card round or offseason.

On Thursday, the Chiefs officially released linebacker Blake Lynch from the team while adding wide receiver Montrell Washington back to the mix. The moves come one week after reversing these transactions for Week 18.

The Chiefs announced a couple of moves on Thursday on the practice squad.

The Chiefs put Washington out there in the first place on waivers because they needed help at linebacker heading into Week 18. By not wanting to play Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill, the unit was limited with Jack Cochrane injured and other practice squad players out of promotional opportunities. Lynch was brought in for one game and then released to bring back Washington.

Washington’s name should sound familiar to Chiefs fans after being on the roster in some fashion or another for the last two seasons. Washington originally joined the Chiefs in 2023 and sat on the practice squad for the season after failing to make roster cuts, although he did earn one promotion to the active roster in the first half of the year.

Washington rinsed and repeated the same process in 2024 after returning to the team on a futures deal. After active roster cuts forced him to sit on the practice squad, he was recently elevated for the team’s game against the Denver Broncos in Week 18. In both brief appearances, he had a single kick return to his name and that’s all.

Speaking of Denver, Washington joined the Chiefs via their rivals after the Broncos selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. As a small-school prospect out of Samford, he earned a season-long look as a returner before losing his credibiity with the team as they made changes to the Sean Payton era.

As for Lynch, the former undrafted linebacker (2020) out of Baylor found himself in and out of Kansas City in one week’s time. He signed with the Chiefs at the end of December and was waived one later, recording 6 total tackles in his lone appearance with the team. The brief stop was his latest as a journeyman around the NFL following previous stops with the Vikings, Cardinals, Chargers, Seahawks, and Raiders.