Mike Edwards returns to Kansas City’s practice squad following release

Mike Edwards will not be leaving Kansas City after all, returning to the Chiefs after being released by the franchise on Tuesday. Initially left off the 53-man roster on the NFL’s cut day, the former Kentucky star was quickly re-signed to the practice squad entering his seventh season in the league.

He left the Chiefs’ preseason game on August 15 with a hamstring injury after signing a one-year deal with the franchise in April. That was his last preseason appearance ahead of cuts this week.

Edwards was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round in 2019 and spent four seasons there, winning his first Super Bowl ring in 2020. He’d continue his career in Kansas City in 2023, immediately winning his second Super Bowl, followed by a split season in Buffalo and Tampa Bay in 2024. His career includes 83 games played with 30 starts, totaling 247 tackles, eight interceptions, four touchdowns and three sacks.

One of the best players to come through the Kentucky football program — certainly under Mark Stoops — Edwards is one of 19 players with 300-plus tackles and one of two defensive backs to reach that mark. He was a three-time All-SEC selection, never missing a game in his four-year career with 44 consecutive starts. He finished his career with 10 interceptions, tied for the fourth-most in school history, and returned two of those turnovers for touchdowns.

Darryl Bishop (1971-73) is the only defensive back with more tackles (348) in program history.

“That position, you get your nose around the football lot. Mike was a guy who was always involved,” Stoops said of Edwards this week. “We could move him from safety to nickel. He was one of my all-time favorites.”

Expect to see more of Edwards in live game action for the Chiefs once he gets back to full strength, the perfect safety net veteran Kansas City could ask for in that practice squad spot.

The former Wildcat’s got plenty more in the tank.