KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs shuffled their practice squad during the bye week, adding three new faces including former New England Patriots wide receiver Devin Lucien.
New England Patriots wide receiver Devin Lucien (13) catches a touchdown pass in front of New York Giants defensive back Tay Glover-Wright (47) during the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. (Photo courtesy Patriots.com)
The team also added cornerback Will Redmond, a 2016 sixth-round pick by San Francisco from Mississippi State. The club also re-signed former Missouri defensive lineman Rickey Hatley.
Lucien, a seventh-round selection by the Patriots in 2016, served on the team’s practice squad during its Super Bowl championship season. He says he learned much during his time in New England.
“Being a rookie and going to the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl, you’re just going to learn a lot from that whole experience,” Lucien said.
The Patriots released Lucien after the preseason, and he briefly signed on to the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts in September. He participated in several NFL tryouts but wanted to come to Kansas City.
“I was out for three to four weeks, so I was happy I was going to a team that has a chance to contend and seems like a good competing team,” Lucien said. “You can’t go wrong with Andy Reid.”
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver from Arizona State posted a 4.49 40-yard dash time during his college pro day.
“I think I’ve got good hands, I think I’m fast, I think I’m a great route runner so whatever they need me to do, I’ll do,” Lucien said.
The Los Angeles native started his college career at UCLA before transferring to Arizona State. His arrival in Kansas City reunites him with childhood acquaintance De’Anthony Thomas.
“We played on the same all-state team back in high school and we played against each in Pop Warner when we were like eight,” Lucien said. “He kind of gave me a brief description of how things would be here and the culture and how things go. He’s been helpful with everything, being a receiver too.”
Lucien said the team’s young receivers room in Kansas City stood out to him immediately. The 32-year-old Danny Amendola and 31-year-old Julian Edelman lead the receivers in New England. Albert Wilson at the tender age of 25 is the elder statesman among the Kansas City receivers group.
“We had a very experienced receivers room, which is kind of different here because it’s very young here, very young,” he said.
The Chiefs cleared space on the practice squad for the three recent additions by releasing wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo and offensive lineman Nick Becton. The Dallas Cowboys signed defensive end Daniel Ross from the Chiefs practice squad.
The team also reached an injury settlement with offensive tackle Donald Hawkins, releasing him from the club’s injured reserve list.
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Matt Derrick is the lead beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @MattDerrick.
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