Darrius Shepherd, a former standout at Blue Springs High School near Kansas City, made the most of a tryout with the Chiefs this week in landing a spot on the 90-man roster.
The club made room for Shepherd by waiving offensive lineman Martinas Rankin.
Shepherd entered the NFL with Green Bay as an undrafted free agent in 2019 after winning three Football Championship Subdivision national titles with North Dakota State. He ranked up 188 receptions in his college career with 2,841 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was named the most outstanding player in the FCS national championship game in the 2018 season.
Shepherd spent most of the past two seasons with the Packers, playing in 14 games with six catches for 47 yards.
Rankin arrived in Kansas City in August 2019 via a trade with Houston in exchange for running back Carlos Hyde. Rankin started five games for the Chiefs during their Super Bowl LIV championship season before a knee injury ended his season. He started last season on the physically unable to perform list before returning to the roster in Week 10. He played in just one contest last season, starting at left tackle in the team’s Week 17 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
