Chiefs make three roster moves on Tuesday

According to the NFL’s official transactions report, the Kansas City Chiefs made three roster moves on Tuesday.

First, they activated offensive lineman Martinas Rankin from the team’s physically-unable-to-perform list, where has been since before training camp began.

This was an expected move. Rankin was designated to return from PUP on October 21, which gave the Chiefs three weeks to either put him on the active roster, return him to PUP for the remainder of the season or release him outright.

This move gives the Chiefs additional depth — if not additional options — on their offensive line, which has been in a less-than-ideal situation since before the season began, when veteran right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and third-round rookie Lucas Niang chose to opt out of the 2020 season. That merely made things difficult — while later injuries to veterans Kelechi Osemele and Mitchell Schwartz made things worse.

Rankin — a former third-round draft pick originally acquired from the Houston Texans in August 2019 in a trade for running back Carlos Hyde — started five games for the Chiefs in 2019. He sustained a knee injury in the Week 10 game against the Tennessee Titans and was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

To make room for Rankin, the Chiefs waived former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Demone Harris, who has been with the team since last November. He played in four 2019 games and has been active for just one contest this season.

The Chiefs also placed practice-squad defensive tackle Braxton Hoyett on the Reserve/COVID list. An undrafted rookie out of Mississippi State, Hoyett played in one game this season. A reminder: this does not necessarily mean Hoyett has tested positive for the novel coronavirus; players may also be placed on the list after being in close contact with an infected person.

Hoyett’s designation leaves the team with 15 players on the practice squad. Should Harris clear waivers on Wednesday, the Chiefs could put him on their practice squad — unless they have a different move in mind.