The Kansas City Chiefs had a rough time in Seattle, facing off against the Seahawks in preseason Week 2, but that didn’t stop bubble candidate Robert Tonyan from continuing his red-hot camp and summer.
The journeyman tight end, Tonyan, led all KC pass-catchers with 5 targets and 5 receptions, accumulating 41 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. It’s the second straight week of preseason football that Tonyan has led the Chiefs or tied for the lead in both receptions and yardage, with 3 catches for 49 yards against the Arizona Cardinals.
The tight end was a rare bright spot on Friday night, as the Chiefs were pretty much pummeled by the Seahawks from start to finish.
Of course, it should be reiterated that Patrick Mahomes and the large majority of the Kansas City starters did not even suit up for this outing. But head coach Andy Reid and his staff still won’t be pleased with this performance either way, outside of Tonyan and a handful of others.
It’s been a torrid few weeks for Tonyan, who has really risen to the occasion after expected training camp darling and rookie tight end Jake Briningstool suffered a hamstring injury early on. That opened the door for the veteran, and he hasn’t looked back, doing everything possible to secure a spot on the 53-man roster.
It’s unclear how many tight ends Kansas City will keep at the cutdown in 2025. But Tonyan is certainly making the Chiefs think long and hard about retaining a fourth TE behind Travis Kelce, Noah Gray and Jared Wiley.
Chiefs Kingdom Applauds Robert Tonyan’s Preseason Performance
There wasn’t a lot for Chiefs Kingdom to be happy about on Friday night — for those who stayed awake for the late-night outing on the West Coast. As mentioned above, Tonyan was one of them, and fans and media members applauded him for his efforts.
“Robert Tonyan with ANOTHER big play! He’s gotta be making this roster… right?” KC superfan account ‘how bout those CHIEFS’ posted on X.
Similarly, Chiefs Hive proclaimed: “I think Robert Tonyan has clinched a roster spot.”
“FIRE UP THE BIG BOB BOOSTER CLUB FOR ROBERT TONYAN’S TUG!” Matt Lane of KC Sports Network also cheered, following the touchdown.
And KC radio host Alex Gold stated that “Robert Tonyan is clearly the best TE #3 in the league.”
Finally, Chiefs Digest beat reporter Matt Derrick commented: “I have no idea where this Robert Tonyan was hiding the last two years but kudos to the Chiefs for finding him.”
Winners & Losers of Chiefs’ Seahawks Matchup, Including the Highs & Lows of Skyy Moore
There were mostly “losers” on Friday, if you’re looking for a post-game stock report. The good news is that a lot of these players were never making the 53-man roster anyway.
In terms of bubble candidates, like Tonyan, fan favorite RB/FB Carson Steele struggled to make an impact once again. An early fourth-down stuff of Steele pretty much summed up his night, as things are starting to look bleak for the former UDFA’s roster chances.
On the bright side for Steele, veteran running back Elijah Mitchell showed very little promise, running the ball 4 times for a lowly yards per carry average of 2.3 yards.
Rookie seventh-rounder Brashard Smith showed some fight as a runner, turning a loss into a nice gain at one point. He finished with an impressive 7.3 yards per carry — not to mention 2 catches for 16 yards — and was one of the clear “winners” of this contest.
The defense was mostly off balance and out of whack against the Seahawks. So, Steve Spagnuolo’s entire unit took an “L” in Seattle.
However, rookie linebackers Jeffrey Bassa and Brandon George each secured 1 tackle for a loss, as did fellow LB Cam Jones. Cornerback Nazeeh Johnson also had a notable pass breakup as he competes for a depth role in the secondary.
The entire depth WR battle was also a loser in this one, as no one really did much of anything, from Tyquan Thornton to Jason Brownlee.
Former second-round pick Skyy Moore had an outing full of highs and lows, with a bad drop and a 0-for-2 stat line as a receiver, followed by an 88-yard punt return touchdown. It feels unlikely that Moore will make the 53-man roster in 2025, but if he does, it’ll be because he wins the lead returner job over Nikko Remigio, among others.
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