KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs rookie tight end Jared Wiley landed on season-ending injured reserve Saturday with a torn ACL, six days after fellow tight end Jody Fortson also suffered a season-ending torn ACL against the Las Vegas Raiders, leaving Kansas City’s tight end room in need of reinforcements.
The club responded by promoting Peyton Hendershot from the practice squad to the active roster, then signing to the practice squad journeyman tight end Anthony Firkser, who previously spent time on the Chiefs practice squad in 2017.
“Hendershot will be brought up and he’ll work in there, and he’s been taking reps and he’s played before so he’ll be OK,” said head coach Andy Reid.
The promotion of Hendershot to the active roster almost certainly ensures he will meet the conditions of the trade that brought him to the Chiefs from Dallas in August. Kansas City acquired the 25-year-old for a 2026 seventh-round selection conditional on him being on the 53-player roster for five games or on the active gameday roster three times this season. Monday night will mark his second game with the Chiefs, and he’s likely to be active again next week against Denver.
The 6-foot-4, 254-pound Hendershot entered the league with Dallas as an undrafted free agent from Indiana in 2022. In 26 games throughout three seasons, he’s caught 15 passes for 141 yards and two scores. he also scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown as a rookie with the Cowboys.
Hendershot saw action in the Chiefs’ Week 2 win against Cincinnati playing seven snaps on special teams with one tackle. He was waived on Sept. 16 to help make room for the promotions of linebacker Cole Christiansen and running back Keaontay Ingram to the active roster. The club re-signed him to the practice squad two days later.
It’s mixed emotions for Hendershot, who said he’s grown close to Wiley since joining the club. “Me and him, that’s who I talked to the most,” Hendershot said. “It just sucks seeing an injury like that happen to him.”
Hendershot wasn’t expecting to play until Wiley’s injury, so he didn’t order tickets for his family for this week’s game. Ramzee Robinson, the team’s director of player engagement, helped Hendershot track down three tickets for his parents and his physical therapist to watch him play Monday night. That’s how quickly an NFL player’s week can change on a dime.
“I went in the day yesterday, just having a blue jersey on and going to scout team,” Hendershot said. “And 20 minutes into practice, it was, ‘Hey, now you’re gonna be up and playing,’ so you just gotta flip the switch. But that’s what you lean on from your preparation, you do every day when nobody’s looking and just lean on that.”
It’s a far different situation for Hendershot now when he made his Chiefs’ debut against Cincinnati only 18 days after arriving in Kansas City.
“I feel like I’m definitely in a better situation now than I was when I first got here, just coming to terms with the playbook and how they do things here and stuff,” he said. “Really looking forward to going out there and just doing my best and seeing what we can make happen.”
Wiley to Injured Reserve
Wiley, the team’s first of two selections in the fourth round (No. 131 overall) of this year’s draft from TCU, tore his ACL in a non-contact play during Friday’s practice in what Reid described as “one of those freak things.”
Tight end Travis Kelce called the loss of both Wiley and Fortson this week “a dagger to the morale and the chemistry” in the tight end room.
“Both those guys are playing great football,” Kelce said. “I hated to see it for Jody because of what he’s been through in the past. And then I hated to see it for (Wiley) because he was really starting to play fast and physical, and really come into his own and play a lot more confident in the offense and his role.”
Wiley, who turned 24 Saturday, played in seven games for the Chiefs this season with two starts. He caught one pass for 7 yards while playing 94 offensive snaps and nine snaps on special teams.
Impact on Chiefs Offense
The loss of both Wiley and Fortson is a blow for a Kansas City offense that increasingly relied upon multiple tight-end formations in recent weeks.
Last week, the Chiefs’ four tight ends accounted for 145 snaps on offense for an average of 2.13 tight ends on the field per play. Conversely, the team’s five wide receivers accounted for only 142 snaps. Fortson and Wiley combined for 36 snaps. From where will the Chiefs draw reinforcements to replace those snaps?
Hendershot can contribute some to the workload but don’t be surprised if the Chiefs lean more newcomer DeAndre Hopkins and 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) against Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers have a suspect pass defense — they rank 29th in the league in allowing 255.4 yards passing per game. While only Baltimore (604 yards) and the Chiefs (566) have yielded more yards to tight ends than Tampa Bay (518), the Buccaneers also rank No. 26 in passing yards allowed to wide receivers.
The Bucs aren’t much better against the run either, ranking No. 20 in allowing 131.6 yards rushing per game. A balanced attack even with less tight end usage should work for the Chiefs this week.
Firkser to Practice Squad
The 29-year-old Firkser entered the league from Harvard as an undrafted free agent in 2017. During the past eight seasons, he’s spent stints with the Chiefs along with the New York Jets, Tennesee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots and Detroit Lions. In 75 games in his career, Firkser has caught 115 passes for 1,207 yards and five touchdowns.
After signing with the Jets as a rookie free agent in May 2017, he was waived on Sept. 2 and was added to the Chiefs’ practice squad Nov. 29 that season. He signed a reserve/future deal with the club after the season before he was waived on April 30, 2018.
Firkser enjoyed a career season with the Titans in 2020, establishing career highs in receptions (39) and receiving yards (387). Firskser signed as a free agent with the Jets on July 30 and was released during final roster reductions before re-signing with the team’s practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster Oct. 19 and released Oct. 31.
Firkser saw limited action and played mostly special teams for Detroit last year and with New York during the first half of this season. He played in two games for the Lions a year with two offensive snaps and 22 on special teams. He saw action in four games with the Jets including nine offensive snaps and 61 on special teams.
