Taco Charlton, Bradley McDougald among former KC Chiefs in the news

It’s another day on the NFL’s transaction wire, which means we’re seeing a few more familiar faces for K.C. Chiefs fans either find new homes or meet the end of a part of their professional journey. The latest features some defensive veterans who were here for a bit and are now looking to extend their careers with new teams.

The biggest name to hit the wire was former Chiefs pass rusher Taco Charlton, who finally found a new place to call home for the 2021 regular season after sitting out Week 1 and earning a tryout with the Green Bay Packers earlier this week. The Packers allowed Charlton to come and go without a contract offer, but the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to snatch him up instead by signing him to their practice squad in the wake of roster moves made after losing Tyson Alualu to injury.

Charlton was with the Chiefs for much of 2020 and 2021 after signing consecutive one-year deals with the team. Initially he signed for the 2020 season and made the active roster after a short stint with the Miami Dolphins. However, a fractured ankle prematurely ended his season. General manager Brett Veach decided to sign him for another one-year deal but Charlton was beaten out in the preseason by younger players. The Chiefs cut Charlton loose among their first roster cuts before this year began.

A few former Chiefs were on the NFL’s transaction wire on Tuesday.

Bradley McDougald should be a familiar name to Chiefs fans who’ve been paying close attention ever since Andy Reid first arrived and John Dorsey was general manager. On The team signed McDougald, who might also be a familiar face for local football fans from his time with the Kansas Jayhawks, to an undrafted free agent contract after the 2013 NFL Draft.

McDougald would do well as a rookie free agent to even make the team’s practice squad and he earned a bit of playing time early in the year but he was waived by November. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came calling and gave him an opportunity to eventually become a full-time starter at safety.

From there, McDougald has enjoyed a very impressive career with 107 games and 83 starts with a handful of franchises. Unfortunately, he’s on the transaction wire today because the Tennessee Titans decided to release him on Tuesday.

In other news, former Chiefs offensive lineman Jackson Barton has been signed by the Las Vegas Raiders away from the New York Giants practice squad. Barton first entered the league as a seventh round pick of the Indianapolis Colts, but was signed away by the Chiefs from Indy’s practice squad in November of the team’s Super Bowl run of 2019. Barton stuck around through the following preseason until he failed the make the team.