While the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 18 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers has no postseason ramifications, the team is still planning for the future. On Thursday, general manager Brett Veach will make a move on the outskirts. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Kansas City has signed former Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs to the practice squad.
Veteran DL Isaiah Buggs is signing with the #Chiefs practice squad, per source. Reinforcements up front for KC's D.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 4, 2024
DL veteran According to a source, Isaiah Buggs has signed with the #Chiefs practice squad. Reinforcements up front for Kansas City’s D. Buggs, a sixth-round pick in 2019, spent his first three seasons with the Steelers. The Alabama product recorded 31 tackles and a QB hit in 29 games with Pittsburgh. He spent the 2022 season and the majority of the 2023 season with the Lions, where he had his greatest season yet. Buggs set career highs in tackles (46), quarterback hits (10), passes broken up (2), and forced fumbles (1) while appearing in all 17 regular-season games for Dan Campbell’s team. He was also carrying a sack.
With players like C.J. Garnder-Johnson and Alim McNeill returning from the injured reserve list, Detroit needed some open roster places. As a result, the team dismissed Buggs, although Campbell stated that parting ways with the 27-year-old wasn’t easy. “When those things happen, nothing about it is easy, but it was the best thing for us and for him,” Campbell went on to say. “So I wish him the best of luck.”
Buggs, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 335 pounds, will be an interior defensive lineman for Kansas City. According to Pro Football Focus, 997 of his snaps have been with him lined up in the B-gap before the snap, with the remaining 351 being A-gap reps. He joins a group that includes Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi, Tershawn Wharton, Neil Farrell, and others as classic nose tackles or three-techs. At the very least, this is good supplemental depth for the rest of the season, and it might lead to a reserve/futures deal after the season is over.
