KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Montrell Washington was in Denver one month ago, waiting to see if he had done enough to spend a second season in the Broncos receiver room.
Sunday, after the Broncos fell to Miami 70-20, Washington took the field for the Chiefs, stepping into the breach and filling in for injured return specialist Richie James helping his new teammates to a 41-10 victory. What a difference a month can make.
“Being a punt returner, you’re the spark,” Washington said at his locker Wednesday afternoon, one day after earning a promotion to the team’s 53-player roster. “You start the offense off. You got to be a spark when you get back there. So just the fact that I was able to get guys excited, ready to go out there and make plays, that’s my job, that’s all I wanted to do.”
Washington indeed did it well Sunday, delivering an 11-yard average on three punt returns including a 23-yard return in the first quarter that helped set up Kansas City’s first touchdown drive of the day.
“The guys blocked, they did their job, and I kind of did the easy part, just run,” Washington said. “Just run fast and get downfield. The hardest part was with the guys making those blocks. They did a hard job.”
Washington’s whirlwind month began Aug. 29 when the Broncos placed him on waivers during final roster cuts down to 53 players. He was the team’s principal return specialist last season after Denver selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He averaged 18.9 yards on kick returns and 8.5 yards on punt returns, but this season the Broncos installed Marvin Mimms as their return specialist, the No. 63 overall selection in this year’s draft from the second round.
The Chiefs moved quickly in scooping up Washington. The club brought him to Kansas City for one of their top-30 visits when he entered the NFL draft as a 5-foot-10, 170-pound receiver from Samford. When he hit the free agent market, the Chiefs reached terms on signing him to the practice squad on Aug. 29 and whisked him to Kansas City.
Last Wednesday, just 20 days after joining the Chiefs, Washington received his first clue that a more prominent role was in his future. With James out due to an MCL injury in his knee, Washington took reps as the primary kick and punt returner during special teams periods. The club elevated him from the practice squad on Saturday, but it wasn’t until almost 2 p.m. Sunday that he learned he would handle return duties for the Chiefs against Chicago.
While Washington may be a surprising name in the Kansas City receiver room, he certainly carved out his niche on Sunday. The Chiefs are still carrying seven receivers on the active roster, so it’s not contingent upon him to step into the offense, yet.
“My role is to be a return man, I can do that,” Washington said. “We got great receivers, so for me to be able to go out there and return the ball and get good field position for these guys, you couldn’t ask for more.”
Yet he received even more on Tuesday when the club informed him he was being signed to the active roster. He called his parents to let them know he had a new job.
“Found out yesterday, came in and signed the papers for it and was shocked myself,” Washington said. “I’m not gonna lie. I thought I was just filling in for this week, maybe next and was able to get called up and do the job. So excited.”
Head coach Andy Reid said the club plans to stick with Washington as their return specialists for now with James on injured reserve. Promoting him to the 53-player roster indicated it’s not necessarily a short-term assignment.
“Montrell I thought did a nice job,” Reid said. “I thought he was secure back there. I thought he handled it well.”
