Khalen Saunders clears waivers. Chiefs’ locker room would love to see his return
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Khalen Saunders cleared waivers and is free to sign with any NFL roster.
- Chiefs teammates lobbied for Saunders citing run defense, familiarity, energy.
- Saunders offers veteran depth after Norman-Lott ACL, boosting interior run play.
On Friday, former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders cleared waivers after being cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.
A third-round pick by Kansas City in the 2019 NFL Draft, Saunders spent four seasons with the Chiefs before stints with the New Orleans Saints (2023–24) and, most recently, Jacksonville.
Jacksonville dropped the 29-year-old on Thursday, and although he’s a vested veteran, he was still subject to waivers because the move came after the NFL trade deadline. He is now free to sign with any club’s 53-man roster or practice squad.
“Thankful through it all,” Saunders wrote Thursday on his official X account. “It’s all love, (Duval).”
After successfully campaigning for Mike Pennel’s return to the Chiefs a few weeks ago, KC defensive line star Chris Jones was right back to work during his weekly Thursday news conference.
“We’ve got to get my brother back,” Jones said. “(General manager) Brett Veach and those guys do a really good job getting guys familiar with the system back. So hopefully he’s one of those guys we can get back in the system.”
In the locker room Friday, several of Saunders’ former teammates echoed Jones’ lobbying efforts.
“When he was here, he was a huge contributor for us on defense, especially when we were making our (Super Bowl) runs,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “Having a guy familiar with the defense and familiar with the faces around here — he’s been in this locker room before. We understand he meshes with these guys.”
“He’s part of the family,” defensive end Mike Danna said. “He was with me at the beginning of my career, and he’s a great guy — a great locker-room guy, a great person in general. I’ve got a lot of love and respect for him, and to have something like that back — or a person like that back — that’d be awesome.”
In mid-October, Chiefs rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott tore his ACL, ending his season. Kansas City brought back Pennel to help fill that void — and perhaps Saunders is next.
In addition to their ability to stuff the run, both are considered “energy-givers,” a term often used by head coach Andy Reid.
“(Pennel and Saunders are) a joy to be around — happy, enjoying life — but also detailed where they need to be, focused in,” Bolton said. Obviously, they help play the run — (Saunders is) another run defender as well. So, (they bring) all the intangibles to this team.”
During his four years in Kansas City, Saunders appeared in 38 regular-season games, recording 81 tackles and 4.5 sacks. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion.
