Chiefs Rumors: Kelce talks Swift, WR addition, Blandino addresses Taylor penalties
By Mark Powell
Chiefs Rumors: Kansas City adds another wideout
As if Patrick Mahomes didn't have enough weapons at his disposal, the Chiefs signed another young wide receiver to their practice squad in former Oregon Ducks speedster Chase Cota. This isn't Cota's first NFL experience, as he spent training camp with the Detroit Lions.
Former Oregon WR Chase Cota is signing with the #Chiefs practice squad, per his agents @davidcanter and @NessMugrabi. Cota was in camp with the #Lions.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 26, 2023
It's unclear exactly what role Cota will have with the Chiefs, though with the injury to Richie James, who was placed in injured reserve this week, perhaps the Oregon product will fill in as a return specialist, if anything.
Cota has experience returning kicks and punts from his college days, and the Lions viewed him as a prospect in that light as well. Montrell Washington was elevated to the active roster to replace James, so he will get the first opportunity on game days. The Chiefs play the New York Jets this weekend on Sunday Night Football.
Kansas City's fanbase has liked what they have seen from Washington in limited spurts. If for some reason he cannot cut it as the regular return man, that's where Cota may come into play. Andy Reid likes what he sees from the wide receiver room so far despite some outside noise suggesting the opposite. There are a lot of younger receivers on the Chiefs roster, and Reid expects them to come along by the end of the season.
“I liked what I saw. There are some things we’ve got to correct on all of them, but there were some good things,” Reid said during his Monday presser. “I like the way (Rashee) Rice is coming along, so I mean he’s catching the ball well, he’s getting up the field. He had the one at the end, that was on him, the interception at the end. But for the most part here, he’s doing a nice job. When he has the ball in his hands, he’s strong and knows how to get up the field quickly, so that’s a real positive and I think Pat (Mahomes) has a lot of trust in him. You can see the development."
That development, or lack thereof, could determine whether or not Cota sticks on the practice squad long term.