Chiefs Practice Squad Tracker: How Will Kansas City Round Out the Roster?

Even though the Kansas City Chiefs have revealed their initial 53-man roster for the 2026 season, there is still more work to be done before the team's full list of players is entirely set. Players who don't begin the year on the active roster could still find a path to future playing time by landing on the practice squad.

With the challenges of NFL roster building often leading to tough decisions on cutdown day, the practice squad provides a place for teams to retain promising young players or familiar veterans who haven't been added to another team's 53-man roster.

We're tracking all of the news regarding the Chiefs' practice squad signings here on Chiefs On SI.

Kansas City Chiefs 2026 Practice Squad

CB D'Arco Perkins-McCallister

Cornerback D'Arco Perkins-McCallister, an undrafted rookie who finished his collegiate career at the University of Lousiana-Monroe, will be joining the team's practice squad, according to Aaron Wilson.

Other Practice Squad News, Reports and Signings

OT Esa Pole signing elsewhere

After being a somewhat surprising cut on Sunday, offensive tackle Esa Pole cleared waivers but still will not be returning to Kansas City. According to Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star, Pole is planning to join the Washington Commanders' practice squad.

Three players clear waivers, land on IR

On Sunday, the Chiefs waived three players with injury designations: quarterback Chris Oladokun, guard C.J. Hanson and running back E.J. Smith. All three cleared waivers on Monday, allowing them to land on the injured reserve list.

OL CJ Hanson , QB Chris Oladokun and RB EJ Smith all cleared waivers and are now on injured reserve. The #Chiefs can keep them on IR for the year, waive them at some point or work out an injury settlement down the road. https://t.co/2c2Uu0F5Ys pic.twitter.com/ObdnHZZX3M
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) August 31, 2026

How Does the Practice Squad Work?

Every team can have a practice squad consisting of up to 17 players, with several conditions.

The 17th practice squad spot is reserved for players from the International Player Pathway program, which allows teams to spend extra time developing players from outside of the United States or Canada. For the Chiefs, that spot has belonged to Nigerian offensive tackle Chukwuebuka Godrick in recent years. On Monday, Godrick was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins.

For the rest of the 16-player squad, teams can keep a mix of players with minimal NFL experience and up to six veterans, as outlined in the NFL's contract language.

"Players with no accrued seasons and those with fewer than nine regular-season games in their lone accrued season are eligible for the practice squad," the league's rules explain. "Teams can also have a maximum of ten players who have earned no more than two accrued seasons. Each team [is allowed] to have up to six players with unlimited accrued seasons on the practice squad. However, the number of players in the last two categories cannot exceed 10 players combined."

When the season arrives, practice squad players can be elevated for a maximum of three games each league year. For additional appearances beyond those three standard elevations, players would need to be added to the 53-man roster.

Across the league, teams can sign players from another team's practice squad and add them to their 53-man roster, but players cannot be poached off of one practice squad directly to another.

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