The Kansas City Chiefs have terminated the contract of quarterback Chris Oladokun, ending a four-year stretch in which the former seventh-round pick served mainly as practice-squad insurance and, briefly, as an emergency starter.
NFL insider Charles Goldman reported the news.
On Friday, September 4, the team reached an injury settlement with Oladokun and waived him from injured reserve, along with guard C.J. Hanson and running back E.J. Smith.
The move makes the 29-year-old a free agent. It follows an August 30 roster cut in which Kansas City waived him with an injury designation. After he went unclaimed, he reverted to IR. The settlement closed the book before the 2026 season opener against Denver.
Oladokun arrived in Kansas City in 2022 after the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him 241st overall out of South Dakota State and then waived him.
He signed with the Chiefs’ practice squad and spent most of the next seasons cycling between futures deals, cuts, and practice-squad stints. He earned Super Bowl rings from the 2022 and 2023 championship teams without playing in those games.
Oladokun’s first regular-season snaps came late in 2024. A larger role arrived in December 2025, when Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew both suffered season-ending knee injuries.
Promoted from the practice squad, Oladokun completed his first career pass to Travis Kelce against Tennessee, then started the final two games.
He went 13-of-22 with a touchdown in a Christmas loss to Denver and struggled in a season-finale loss to Las Vegas, finishing the year 35-of-55 for 235 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. Kansas City lost both of his starts.
Those two starts were not enough to keep him in the quarterback room. The Chiefs signed Justin Fields and drafted Garrett Nussmeier, locking in a three-man group behind Mahomes.
Oladokun’s preseason was limited by injury; he completed 10 of 17 passes for 78 yards before missing the finale. With the roster at 53 and no need for a fourth quarterback, Kansas City chose a settlement over carrying him on IR for the year.
Oladokun was never a star, but he was a familiar presence in Andy Reid’s building—a hard-working depth piece who knew the offense when the starters went down.
The Chiefs, coming off a 6-11 season and aiming to return to contention with a healthy Mahomes, decided that familiarity was no longer enough. Oladokun now looks for another landing spot as an unrestricted free agent.
