The NFL trade deadline is officially behind us, and it was a quiet one for the Kansas City Chiefs. Some fans were hoping for a move to acquire a running back, but the Chiefs decided to keep their powder dry ahead of the second half of the season. That doesn't mean, however, that the transaction season is over. Teams have been poaching players off practice squads, and the Chiefs were the latest team to lose a potential contributor in a key position.
Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston reported on Wednesday that the Pittsburgh Steelers were signing Brodric Martin off Kansas City's practice squad. The Steelers, another team that stood pat at the deadline, decided to upgrade their roster for free, while the Chiefs lost depth at a position where they were already running out of bodies.
Chiefs Lose Brodric Martin From Their Practice Squad
Martin was a third-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 2023. After not meeting expectations in his two seasons there, he was released during the offseason and signed to the Kansas City practice squad. Despite Omarr Norman-Lott's season-ending injury and Derrick Nnadi and Jerry Tillery's underwhelming performances on the interior defensive line, the Chiefs haven't given Martin a chance all season. He was elevated to the active roster once in Week 4 but was eventually deemed inactive.
Instead, the Chiefs brought back Mike Pennel ahead of Week 9, who gave them a nice boost against the Bills in his 20 defensive snaps. Now, the DT rotation is Chris Jones, Pennel, Tillery, and Nnadi. The Kansas City had the insurance of having Martin on the practice squad, along with Marlon Tuipulotu and Zacch Pickens. Tuipulotu has already exhausted his three practice squad elevations and can't play another game unless he is signed to the active roster. With Martin also gone, the Chiefs are running out of emergency backup options.
Now that Pickens is the only interior defensive lineman left on the practice squad, it's safe to assume that the Chiefs will use their newly open roster spot on a defensive tackle. If any of the four DTs suffer an injury, or if Nnadi continues to be the worst-graded interior defender in the NFL (124th out of 124 eligible players) according to Pro Football Focus, Kansas City will need more options it can rely on. Whether Brett Veach and Andy Reid agree, however, remains to be seen.