KC Chiefs: What to make of wide receiver Antonio Callaway

Of all the Kansas City Chiefs reserve-future contract players, former Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Antonio Callaway stands out as one of the most intriguing. Unlike a lot of reserve-future deal players, Callaway has actually produced in the league before.

That being said, Callaway has been lost in the shuffle in a way where Chiefs fans don’t really consider him when talking about who could potentially step up at wide receiver next year.

Callaway was once a promising draft prospect coming out of the University of Florida where he had very big impact. However, Callaway did have some off-field issues which ultimately led to him falling to the 4th round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

The Cleveland Browns would take a chance on the 5’11”, 200 lb, receiver and the risk seemed to pay off at first. Callaway would have 586 yards and 5 TD’s on 43 receptions as a rookie and quickly became and underrated weapon for new quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Unfortunately, Callaway’s off-field issues would linger as he was suspended 10 games for failing a drug test after during the 2019 season. The Browns would quickly decide Callaway wasn’t worth the trouble given his already extensive history of violating team rules and reports of Callaway missing team meetings.

The Miami Dolphins would be the next team to give Callaway a chance but that didn’t last long either as Callaway would once again be suspended for 4 more games for another violation of league rules. The Dolphins wasted no time getting rid of Callaway after the fact.

Now, Callaway finds himself in the Kansas City Chiefs organization on a reserve-future deal with what will likely be his last shot in the NFL. Callaway is now two years removed from his great rookie season and has only appeared in 9 games over the past two seasons so it’s been quite the stumble.

However, there’s no denying the talent is there with Callaway. He has good speed and physicality and can win over the middle pretty easily. Callaway is the type of receiver that isn’t a quarterback’s No. 1 option but will always be there when the play breaks down or when you need a quick gain of yards. He can be useful to the right team and Kansas City does have some questions at receiver so Callaway will have his work cut out for him.

If Callaway is able to reach his ceiling with the Chiefs there’s no doubt he can be a top three receiver on the team. The big question is will Callaway be able to stay out of trouble? If the answer is yes, the Chiefs might strike gold with the addition of Callaway.