The Kansas City Chiefs made a quiet move on Tuesday around the trade deadline. Practice squad receiver Jimmy Holiday was cut in favor of adding defensive lineman Malik Herring. The move makes sense when you consider the depth concerns along the defensive line for the Chiefs and the impressive receiver depth. KSHB 41's Nick Jacobs reported the addition, which was the only noteworthy move from a rather frustrating day for fans hoping that the 3x defending AFC champions would make a bigger splash.
Regardless, the move away from Holiday points to the incredible surprise depth at the receiver position. The pass catcher was an undrafted free agent who played his collegiate ball at Louisiana Tech but had no path to the active roster. It didn't help Holiday's cause that Jason Brownlee remains on the practice squad and has experience on the active roster this season. If either player were to be called into action, it would be Brownlee, making it clear that the practice squad spot was better utilized for defensive line depth. Herring could quickly find his way onto the active roster when you consider the current lack of depth.
Chiefs' Practice Squad Move Points to Surprising 2025 Receiver Depth
One of the surprise stories of the 2025 season has been the surprise depth the Chiefs have found at receiver. Currently, Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Royals, Nikko Remigio, Tyquan Thornton, Rashee Rice, and Xavier Worthy are all on the active roster. This is a surprisingly stacked group of weapons when you consider what that position group looked like in recent seasons. So often, the Chiefs have saved money and relied on Patrick Mahomes to create magic with an underwhelming cast.
This season, that story has changed with Thornton and Brown both being surprise contributors. The duo is surprisingly the team's top-producing wide receivers, both accumulating over 300 yards thus far. Much of this is due to Rice and Worthy both missing time early in the season. However, it allowed Mahomes the chance to build trust with his secondary targets and give the Chiefs a complete air attack they have been missing for the past two seasons.
Considering that each of these seasons still ended in an AFC Championship win only amplifies the greatness of Mahomes and the coaching staff. All of this adds up to the reasoning behind the release of Holiday, who had zero chance at making the active roster.
For the Chiefs, the more important story is the search for contributors to the defensive interior. Chris Jones hasn't had the expected impact, and the rest of Kansas City's pieces are late draft picks or were additions from the bargain bins of free agency. Perhaps Herring will find his way onto the active roster and perhaps into a surprise contributing role. Regardless, the move makes sense for the Chiefs and points out just how much the team has improved at the receiver position.