On Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs made five roster moves ahead of Sunday’s AFC Championship against the Cincinnati Bengals at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
As expected, the Chiefs brought tight end Jody Fortson from the Reserve/Injured list to the active roster. The team also added two practice team receivers to the active roster for Sunday’s game: Marcus Kemp and Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Both will likely be used on special teams; Kemp is considered one of the best players in this unit.
The team also dropped hybrid running back/wide receiver Jerrion Ealy from the practice squad in favor of running back La’Mical Perine.
We activated TE Jody Fortson from Reserve/Injured.
We activated Practice Squad players WR Marcus Kemp and WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette via Standard Elevation.
We signed RB La’Mical Perine to the Practice Squad.
We have terminated WR Jerrion Ealy’s Practice Squad contract. pic.twitter.com/elFMjcW6bM
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 28, 2023
Fortson — along with running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire — were both scheduled to return from Reserve/Injured on Jan. 17. That opened a 21-day window in which they could both train with the team and be included in the roster. Fortson had been listed on December 23 with an elbow injury; Edwards-Helaire was placed on injured reserve on November 23 with a high ankle sprain.
Edwards-Helaire must now be unlocked for the squad by Tuesday 7th February 3pm PDT. Otherwise, the running back is no longer eligible to play this season.
Fortson takes the roster spot opened when the Chiefs dropped defenseman (and special teams ace) Chris Lammons from the roster on Monday. Both Kemp and Smith-Marsette will automatically return to the training squad after Sunday’s game.
Perine — a fourth-round pick (120th overall) for the New York Jets in 2020 — appeared in 14 games in 2020 and 2021, averaging 3.7 yards per attempt on 72 carries (and scoring two touchdowns) before he ended the 2021 season on injured reserve. The 5-foot-11, 216-pound Florida product, released by New York in the 2022 last cut, spent the remainder of the 2022 season on the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins practice teams.