The Kansas City Chiefs terminated the contract of safety Tanner McCalister on Tuesday, a day after opening the season with a 31-10 home win over the Denver Broncos.
The move was announced via the NFL transaction wire.
McCalister, 26, was a practice-squad safety. The move came after Kansas City elevated other practice-squad players for Monday Night Football and then reset the group Tuesday, adding defensive tackle Marcus Harris and running back Ben VanSumeren back to the practice squad.
The undrafted defensive back out of Oklahoma State and Ohio State has spent most of his NFL career on practice squads. He signed with Cleveland as an undrafted free agent in 2023, appeared in three games that year, and later spent time with Denver and the New York Jets.
Kansas City first signed him to the practice squad in December 2025, released him after the 2025 season, then brought him back on a reserve/futures deal in February 2026. He was waived in final cuts Aug. 30 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.
He is listed at 5-foot-11 and 191 pounds. Career regular-season totals through 2024 were six games and three tackles. He did not appear in Week 1 against Denver.
The timing is typical of NFL roster churn. After a 31-10 win in which Patrick Mahomes returned from a late-2025 knee injury and new running back Kenneth Walker III rushed for 173 yards and two scores, Kansas City still treated the practice squad as a living document.
Elevations for game day often create a corresponding opening the next day. McCalister was one of several safeties and corners cycling through that group this summer, including DeShon Singleton.
For a player in his position, a practice-squad termination is not always the end of the road. Teams can re-sign a player later in the week, and other clubs can claim him if he clears waivers. McCalister has already bounced between Kansas City and Denver once this calendar year.
The Chiefs sit 1-0 and first in the AFC West.
They host Indianapolis in Week 2. McCalister, a finance graduate who has described traveling as a hobby, now looks for the next stop in a career defined by short stays and special-teams work.
Kansas City, meanwhile, continues the weekly housekeeping that follows even a statement win.
