Now back from their Week 10 bye, the Kansas City Chiefs have everything they want in front of them. The reigning AFC champs find themselves out of the conference playoff picture entering Week 11, but a Sunday showdown with the Denver Broncos could be just what the doctored ordered to spark a run at the postseason.
As head coach Andy Reid’s team gears up for the final stretch of the 2025-26 campaign, could it benefit from reuniting with an old friend? One of general manager Brett Veach’s own NFL Draft picks is on the move.
Per a Thursday report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the Jacksonville Jaguars are releasing defensive tackle Khalen Saunders.
Former Chiefs DT Khalen Saunders Getting Released by Jaguars
“The Jaguars are releasing veteran DT Khalen Saunders, per source,” Pelissero’s tweet began. “A two-time Super Bowl champion in Kansas City, Saunders now heads to waivers with a chance to help another contender in a playoff push.”
Saunders, a third-round selection by the Chiefs in 2019, was traded to Jacksonville earlier this year. An August swap saw him come over from the New Orleans Saints, where he originally signed in free agency back in 2023. The seventh-year veteran didn’t last long with the Jaguars, however, before running out of time in town.
Saunders appeared in just two games for Jacksonville this season. In 25 defensive snaps, the former Western Illinois standout recorded 3 tackles — all assisted efforts. He struggled via metrics, posting a 41.3 Pro Football Focus composite grade. Given the nature of such a small sample size, though, it’s hard to read too much into that.
During his four-year stint in Kansas City, Saunders played in 38 regular-season games. Five of those were starts. The 6-foot, 324-pounder logged 81 tackles (3 for loss) and 4.5 sacks, earning a three-year pact worth up to $14.5 million in The Big Easy. In 30 games for New Orleans, he logged 100 tackles (4 for loss) with another pair of sacks.
Because the NFL is past the trade deadline, even vested veterans are subject to the waiver wire. Should Saunders pass through waivers, he’d be free to sign with any NFL club. Should the Chiefs express interest in him?
Assessing Kansas City’s Interior Defensive Line Picture
The answer is complicated. On one hand, the defensive tackle room is already crowded as it is. Not only is All-Pro Chris Jones still leading the way, but Derrick Nnadi and Mike Pennel are his key running mates. After Jones pleaded for the latter to be acquired, that’s exactly what Veach did last month. Pennel requested his release from the Cincinnati Bengals to rejoin the Chiefs, who released him at this summer’s mandatory roster cutdown deadline.
That’s without even considering someone like Jerry Tillery, who has played 177 snaps thus far in 2025 (35% of those available). The Chiefs have some cooks in the kitchen. The results, however, haven’t been up to snuff.
Is that a Jones-related issue? The Hall of Fame-caliber man hasn’t played like it in his 10th season. Despite that, Reid doesn’t believe it’s an isolated problem. The entire defense is working to improve coming out of the bye.
“I think we all need to do better, I would say that,” Reid said to the media this week. “Chris is always striving to do better every day. That’s what has made him such a good player. Again, he’s the guy that they’re going to focus on and if you’re getting a double team, that’s who’s getting doubled. He’ll get his as we go forward, it’s just important that he stays consistent and keeps working hard.”
The last time Saunders got real playing time, he recorded 14 pressures in 228 pass-rushing opportunities for the Saints. The year prior to that, 2023, he had 14 in 245 snaps. In 2022, he had 15 in 248 chances. There’s a pretty clear baseline for his production, even if it isn’t pretty.
Toss in some familiarity with Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme, and perhaps a reunion wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
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