The Kansas City Chiefs have signed tight end Thomas Odukoya to their practice squad after a workout, using the NFL’s International Player Pathway exemption that lets teams carry a 17th practice-squad player, via the NFL transaction log.
Odukoya, 29, is listed at 6-foot-6 and 253 pounds. Born May 5, 1997, in the Netherlands, he is a developmental blocker and special-teams candidate rather than an immediate threat to the active-roster tight ends.
Kansas City’s 53-man group already includes Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Jared Wiley, and Jake Briningstool. The signing fills the international exemption slot previously held by tackle Chu Godrick, who was claimed by the Miami Dolphins after roster cuts.
Odukoya’s path to the NFL was long and unconventional. He played at West Hills College-Coalinga and Garden City Community College in Kansas before spending four seasons at Eastern Michigan. As a senior in 2021 he caught 13 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns and earned third-team All-MAC honors.
The Titans signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022 through the International Player Pathway program. He spent most of the next four years on practice squads, appearing in two regular-season games for Tennessee in 2024, mostly on special teams.
The Patriots signed him to their practice squad in October 2025; he later landed on injured reserve. He also worked out for the Colts in August before Kansas City brought him in.
For the Chiefs, the move is low-risk depth work ahead of the Sept. 14 Monday Night Football opener against Denver. Andy Reid’s offense already uses multiple tight ends, and a large, experienced practice-squad player can help simulate opposing personnel and compete in walkthroughs.
Odukoya’s size and years in NFL meeting rooms give him a chance to contribute if injuries hit the room or if Kansas City needs extra bodies on special teams.
The signing also continues the league’s effort to develop international talent. Odukoya has spent five seasons around NFL facilities without a regular role.
A practice-squad spot in Kansas City — with Patrick Mahomes, Kelce, and a coaching staff that has long valued tight-end versatility — is another opportunity to prove he belongs.
Whether he ever reaches the 53-man roster is uncertain. What is clear is that the Chiefs liked what they saw in the workout and used the international exemption to keep him in-house rather than let another team claim him.
For a 6-foot-6 tight end who left the Netherlands to chase American football through junior college, the MAC, and two NFL practice squads, that is another chapter, not the last one.
