Breaking: Chiefs To Cut Running Back

The Chiefs spent more than a year cultivating running back La’Mical Perine, signing the former Jets draftee in January 2023 and playing him at moments last season.

The team is currently moving on from the reserve running back.

According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the two-time defending Super Bowl winners decided to cut the former fourth-round pick on Friday. This raises issues about how the Chiefs will fill up their backfield behind their regulars.

Perine’s sole notable action with the Chiefs came in a Week 18 showdown against the Chargers, when the AFC West champions rested key starters after securing a No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs. Perine received 21 carries for 76 yards in that game. He appeared in all three AFC playoff games for the Chiefs, primarily on special teams. The Chiefs did not dress Perine for Super Bowl LVIII, instead activating Jerick McKinnon ahead of time.

Kansas City has not completed the typical post-draft McKinnon agreement; the 10-year veteran remains a free agent. The team also did not select a running back this year. However, Clyde Edwards-Helaire has returned to the team. Despite failing to live up to his first-round draft pick status, the 5-foot-7 back re-signed and is likely to resume his previous role as an Isiah Pacheco backup.

Perine, 26, spent the first two years of his career with the Jets before briefly joining the Eagles and Dolphins. The Chiefs signed Perine to a futures contract in February 2023 and reinstated him after leaving him off their original 53-man roster last summer. Unless the Chiefs return to the Florida alum, it remains uncertain who will be their RB3 in 2024. Former Cardinals player Keaontay Ingram, UDFA Deneric Prince, rugby convert Louis Rees-Zammit, and rookie UDFAs Carson Steele (UCLA) and Emani Bailey (TCU) round up Kansas City’s running back corps.