Chiefs sign veteran tight end to reserve/future contract

Per the NFL’s official transactions report, the Kansas City Chiefs have signed tight end Sean Culkin to a reserve/future contract.

The former University of Missouri player first entered the league as an undrafted free agent for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017. He played in a dozen Chargers games over three seasons — mostly as a blocker and special-teams contributor — but tore an Achilles tendon in Week 4 of 2019, which put him on injured reserve for the rest of the season. He spent 2020 on the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad, from which he was elevated for one game.

The 27-year-old tight end — 6-feet-5 and 255 pounds — profiles as a blocking tight end; he’s been targeted just three times in his NFL career. Over a four-year career at Mizzou, he caught 61 passes for 601 yards and two touchdowns.

This signing will have no bearing on the 2020 season, because reserve/future contracts don’t become effective until the beginning of the next league year in mid-March. The Chiefs are simply acquiring the rights to a free agent player who will compete for a spot on next season’s roster.

The team had already signed five players to these kinds of contracts for 2021: wide receivers Antonio Callaway and Chad Williams, quarterbacks Jordan Ta’amu and Anthony Gordon and offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho. After the Chiefs’ season ends on Sunday night, we can expect that most of the team’s current practice squad players will also be signed to reserve/future deals for the coming season.