Kansas State wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) celebrate his touchdown with teammates Tavon Rooks (73) and Cornelius Lucas (78) during the first half of the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl NCAA college football game against Michigan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Chiefs waived offensive tackle Tavon Rooks with a non-football illness designation, sources familiar with situation confirmed Tuesday with ChiefsDigest.com.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Chiefs have not announced the transaction.
The 6-5, 300-pound Rooks, who entered the league in 2014 out of Kansas State as a sixth-round pick of the New Orleans Saints, signed a free-agent contract with the Chiefs on June 15.
He participated in mandatory minicamp and training camp until leaving the Aug. 17 practice with what the Chiefs categorized as “shortness of breath.”
Rooks hasn’t practiced since and his exact condition remains unclear.
“He’s actually going through tests right now,” Reid said Aug. 30, two prior to Rooks’ release. “So they’re doing a variety of things. Just seeing how that works out.”
The Chiefs entered Tuesday with 79 players on the roster and needed to make four roster moves to reach the league-wide maximum of 75 players by 3 p.m. CT.
UPDATE, 3 p.m. CT:
The Chiefs confirmed the waiving of Rooks.
The Chiefs also announced the waiving of wide receiver Junior Hemingway, and placed rookie linebacker Justin March (knee) on injured reserve and quarterback Tyler Bray (knee) on the non-football injury list.
Hemingway, who joined the Chiefs in 2012 as a seventh-round pick out of Michigan,, suffered a hip injury on the second day of training camp and hasn’t practiced since. The 6-1, 225-pound Hemingway also missed three preseason games and was waived with an injured designation.
The 6-0, 222-pound March, an undrafted free agent out of Akron, suffered a meniscus tear in the preseason opener.
Bray, who joined the Chiefs in 2013 as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee, suffered a torn ACL in January and missed all of organized team activities, mandatory minicamp, training camp and three preseason games.
The Chiefs must reach the 53-man roster by 3 p.m. CT on Saturday.
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Herbie Teope is the lead Chiefs beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and The Topeka Capital Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @HerbieTeope.
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