The Kansas City Chiefs have celebrated three Super Bowl wins in the last five years, including triumphs in the last two seasons. In 2024, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes want to go a step further by looking to achieve the first three-peat in NFL history.
And while the core that led to multiple championships remains, many members who won rings in Kansas City left the organization this season. Not all of them played a big role in those titles, though.
That’s why the Chiefs didn’t hesitate to release wide receiver Cornell Powell from their practice squad on Tuesday. With the 27-year-old’s departure, another player is reportedly eligible to have a spot at Arrowhead.
According to Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest, releasing Powell allows Kansas City to make room on the scout team for Tyquan Thornton, whom the Chiefs added at no cost on Monday.
Cornell Powell #14 of the Kansas City Chiefs during warm up before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on November 20, 2022 in Inglewood, California.
Not long ago, the Chiefs turned to Powell to give Reid and Mahomes more depth at wide receiver amid an injury crisis at the position. However, the team now believes his spot is better suited for Thornton.
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Cornell Powell’s time with Reid, Mahomes on the Chiefs
Powell has stayed around Kansas City since the Chiefs selected him out of Clemson with the 181st overall pick in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. But he barely saw the field.
Despite spending time with the team in the last four seasons, Powell only got to make three appearances on a Chiefs uniform. All of them came in 2022, with the wideout getting 28 snaps on special teams. But since he was in Kansas City the last two years, his résumé shows two Super Bowl wins (LVII, LVIII).
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Other Super Bowl champions with Mahomes, Reid who left Kansas City
Before letting Powell go, the Chiefs parted with other players who celebrated championships at Arrowhead but without playing a significant role on the team. The clearance started in February, with more players packing their bags as the year advanced.
The first to leave the Chiefs was wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who was released only a few days after Super Bowl LVIII. Reid and Mahomes did lose a key contributor when the Chiefs traded L’Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans, but that departure looked inevitable as the cornerback was set for a bigger contract.
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Just a few days before the 2024 NFL season opener against the Baltimore Ravens, the Chiefs released defensive tackles Matt Dickerson and Neil Farrell from their practice squad. Other players were cut and brought back to the practice squad, such as linebacker Cole Christiansen. Only time will tell us whether Powell finds his way back to Kansas City, as he did in each of the last four years.
