Tight end has traditionally been a static position for the Kansas City Chiefs for the last decade or so, but that’s rapidly changing. Long-time tight end Travis Kelce has been asked about his possible retirement for the last few weeks, and now the Chiefs are starting to make moves to prepare for that possibility.
One is bringing back second-year tight end Tre Watson, who will get his second chance to make the Chiefs roster, as reported by Matt Conner of Arrowhead Addict.
Watson got his first chance after he went unselected in the 2025 draft after coming out of Texas A&M. This wasn’t all that surprising given Watson’s relative lack of production, as he caught just 21 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown as an Aggie. Before that he spent three years at Fresno State, and his production there included 77 catches for 872 yards and five TDs.
When he got his shot with the Chiefs, Watson was overshadowed by another undrafted free agent signee, Jake Briningstool, who had broken multiple records as a tight end for the Clemson Tigers. Briningstool is still with the Chiefs, albeit buried down the depth chart, but there is some movement this time around with Kelce’s situation.
Noah Gray is still under contract for the 2026 season, but his status might be changing, too. Gray had issues with drops at multiple points during the season, so he could be a candidate to be cut. Jared Wiley also outranked Watson on the depth chart, but he’s struggled with injuries, so there’s a chance the tight end room could be completely reset this year.
Watson has managed to hang around by making it onto the practice squad, and he’ll now join the 90-man roster this spring to give him a full season with the team, according to Conner. The tight end is still a fringe player who has yet to appear in an NFL game, but he’s already defied the odds by sticking around, so it will be interesting to see if he can glean any benefits from a full offseason with the team.
As for the tight end position, no one really knows what it’s going to look like going forward. The Chiefs have designed much of their offense around Kelce’s unique talents and his chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but the makeup of the offense as a whole could also change significantly going forward, and Watson could definitely benefit from that.