The Kansas City Chiefs just held their annual rookie minicamp last weekend, where they got a chance to check out their incoming rookie class, undrafted free agents, and invite/tryout players.
While most fans are watching for this year’s draft picks and UDFAs, a few invite/tryout players caught the Chiefs coaches’ eye, which led to Kansas City signing them to the 90-man roster.
On Monday night, the Chiefs signed safety Major Williams from Carson-Newman, and then on Tuesday, inked wide receiver Jimmy Holiday from Louisiana Tech to a deal. However, Kansas City wasn’t done as they also signed a linebacker who could replace Leo Chenal.
According to Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com, the Chiefs signed former TCU defender Cooper McDonald to the 90-man roster.
McDonald played his last year of college football at TCU after beginning his career at the University of Washington and then San Diego State. With the Horned Frogs last season, he had 25 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble in nine games.
Over his five-year career, he recorded 137 combined tackles, 19 tackles for loss, eight sacks, seven pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble.
Given his lack of production at the college level, it's hard to project what McDonald could be at the NFL level. However, the Chiefs must believe that the former TCU linebacker showed some skillset that could be helpful at linebacker or special teams.
If it's the former, Kansas City could spend the 2025 season developing McDonald in hopes that he becomes a possible replacement for Chenal. The former third-round pick is entering the last year of his rookie deal, and who knows if Kansas City will re-sign him, especially after giving out a big contract to Nick Bolton.
Last season, Chenal had 60 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, three pass deflections, three forced fumbles, a sack, and a quarterback hit.