Chiefs remove Marcus Kemp from COVID list, sign practice squad tight end

According to the NFL’s official transactions report, the Kansas City Chiefs have activated wide receiver Marcus Kemp from the team’s Reserve/COVID list to the active roster.

The team’s longtime special-teams ace went on the list November 18 — four days after he caught a 16-yard pass from Tommy Townsend on a fake punt during Kansas City’s 41-14 defeat of the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10. Kemp was forced to miss the team’s 19-9 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11.

Monday’s transactions report also included a practice-squad signing: Nakia Griffin-Stewart. If the name sounds vaguely familiar, it should. The 24-year-old tight end — who spent part of the 2020 season with the Green Bay Packers practice squad after coming into the league as an undrafted free agent — was signed to Kansas City’s practice squad on November 3, only to be released on November 9. Griffin-Stewart played three seasons at Rutgers before transferring to Pittsburgh in 2019. He was most recently with the New York Giants during their 2021 training camp, but didn’t make the team’s final roster.

With these moves, the Chiefs are now back to their full complement: 53 players on the active roster and 16 on the practice squad.