The Kansas City Chiefs' receiving corps has been hit with the injury bug early in training camp. Last week, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown suffered a lower-body injury, and Xavier Worthy suffered a head injury. Though Worthy wasn't out for an extended period of time, Brown still remains sidelined.
Then, Rashee Rice was sidelined during Wednesday and Thursday's practice with a groin injury. That said, one member of the Chiefs' receiving corps continues to miss time with an injury. Undrafted rookie tight end Jake Briningstool missed Thursday's practice with a hamstring injury.
Not practicing Thursday: WR Hollywood Brown, WR Rashee Rice, TE Jake Briningstool, LB Cam Jones
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) August 7, 2025
CB Kristian Fulton has been activated from PUP.
Chiefs Rookie TE Jake Briningstool Continues to be Sidelined
Entering the spring, Kansas City had high hopes for Briningstool. The 22-year-old received $234,00o in total guarantees upon signing his undrafted deal. That is more money in guarantees than some late-round picks receive. Thus, the Chiefs' front office clearly believed in what they saw from Briningstool in college.
Briningstool spent his collegiate career at Clemson. In four seasons with the Tigers, he recorded 127 receptions for 1,380 yards and 17 touchdowns. His size and athleticism helped him be successful in college, and the Chiefs were hoping his receiving upside would give them another developmental weapon behind Travis Kelce.
Unfortunately, Briningstool hasn't been able to show his talent with the Chiefs yet due to the hamstring injury. Though he was on the field the first four days of training camp, missing the past week doesn't help his chances of making the roster.
Given the state of Kansas City's tight end room, Briningstool missing a preseason game doesn't benefit him. Currently, besides Travis Kelce, the Chiefs have two healthy tight ends: Noah Gray and Robert Tonyan. Therefore, if the 22-year-old were healthy, he would have seen lots of playing time on Saturday.
The playing time Briningstool would have received could have helped him prove why he deserves to be the Chiefs' third tight end in 2025. Instead, Chiefs Kingdom will likely have to wait until at least next week to see what he can do.
Nevertheless, Kansas City remains the best place Briningstool could have landed. With their track record of developing tight ends, he could make an impact in the future even if he is only on the practice squad in 2025.