Chiefs sign familiar face to reinforce tight end depth after early injury at training camp

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed a familiar face to the 90-man offseason roster ahead of their first training camp practice on Sunday.

As players came down the hill to the practice fields at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri on Sunday, reporters spotted TE Izaiah Gathings among them. Gathings is listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds and played receiver in college. He caught 60 passes for 559 receiving yards and two touchdowns during his final year at Middle Tennessee State.

The second-year player has had a few different stints with the Chiefs over the past calendar year. He was on the practice squad for Super Bowl LVIII and earned his first ring as a rookie.

Gathings first joined the team late in training camp and the preseason in 2023, but he didn't make the 53-man roster. He eventually signed with the practice squad after a successful tryout in December . He was re-signed to a reserve/future contract after the 2023 NFL season, but he was released on May 4 ahead of rookie minicamp.

Gathings later signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year deal, but he only lasted a week on their roster. Gathings originally signed with the New York Jets as a rookie minicamp tryout after going undrafted in the 2023 NFL draft.

This move comes after TE Gerrit Prince was spotted in a walking boot during the final day of the rookie headstart at training camp. Prince's injury left the Chiefs with five healthy tight ends: Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Jared Wiley, Irv Smith Jr., and Baylor Cupp. This move will help the depth at the bottom of the roster and give the team another player familiar with the system who can come in seamlessly and execute during training camp.

Related: Updated Chiefs 90-man roster organized by player jersey numbers as training camp begins