Before the NFL season kicks off, we will see the annual training camp and preseason slate. This is the time when every fan base has at least one previously unknown player who suddenly finds himself a local celebrity.
One Kansas City Chiefs player who may win the hearts of the fans over the next few weeks at Missouri Western State University in St. Joe is wide receiver Andrew Armstrong. Standing 6 feet 4 inches tall, Armstrong has taken a long road to keeping his NFL dreams alive.
As a no-star recruit
in 2019 out of Bishop Dunne Catholic School in Dallas, Texas, Armstrong committed to nearby Texas A&M – Commerce (now East Texas A&M). However, he did not get on the field his first season at the Championship Subdivision and redshirted.
He would have to wait an extra year to get onto the field, as the program’s 2020 season was canceled completely due to the COVID pandemic.
After easing into action in 2021, Armstrong broke out in 2022 with 62 catches for 1,020 yards and 13 touchdowns.
That season earned him a transfer to Arkansas. In two seasons as a Razorback, Armstrong totaled 134 catches for 1,904 yards while finding the end zone six times.
Armstrong was not selected in the 2025 draft, and he failed to make the Miami Dolphins roster (or even practice squad) after catching on as an undrafted free agent. After a short stint on the Detroit Lions’ practice squad, Armstrong signed a Reserve/Future contract with Kansas City during the first week of January.
Speaking at the conclusion of the rookie portion of Chiefs’ training camp, Armstrong detailed his journey through the 2025 season.
“I started undrafted,” he recalled. “I ended up going to Miami. It didn’t work as much there. I ended up getting cut. After I got cut, I was off a team for literally 15 weeks… Just working out. A lot of people ask me if I was working out. I know the type of player I am. I know that type of area that I want to get to in life and on the field as well.”
“I had a workout with the Chiefs. I got signed in January, and then I’m here now. I’m ready to show what I can do.”
Though Armstrong is a Texas native, he has strong family ties to Kansas City. He also appreciates the environment head coach Andy Reid and wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea foster.
“It’s been great,” Armstrong remarked. “My dad lives in Kansas City, Missouri. My brothers, my aunts, my cousins — everybody is from here. Just coming back to here has been amazing. Coach Reid, teammates, the receiver room, Coach O’Shea — it’s just been great all around.”
When beat reporters have been around the team, O’Shea has been noticed working with Armstrong more deliberately than many players on reserve/future contract players often see. The wideout knows the value of the coach’s attention.
“I love Coach O’Shea,” said Armstrong. “He’s going to be hard on me. That’s the type of coach I love to play for. A coach that’s really going to get on you, really going to tell you what you need to do [and] the small details — that’s exactly what O’Shea does. When I get that coaching from him, I love it. That’s the type of way I want to get coached.”
The Chiefs face questions about the wide receiver depth chart. Armstrong, however, values the environment he has found in Kansas City more than seeing the team as a more direct path to catch on the roster.
“It wasn’t too much of knowing the best way to earn a roster spot,” he explained. “It’s just coming in to work and knowing that nothing is given to anybody. I knew I was going to have to come in here and do the best that I can, be the best type of player I can on and off the field. In the training room, inside of the locker room, [they’re] great teammates. It’s just little things like that that help me come in here and fight for a spot.”
A pair of extra practices to work directly with quarterback Patrick Mahomes before the full squad reports to St. Joe this week has also been valuable.
“It’s been great,” Armstrong noted of catching from the face of football. “Just working in the summer, before the summer in OTAs and things like that, it was great just catching the ball from him…Being here and being able to catch with him and earn that chemistry with him, it’s been great. It’s been fun.”
As a soon-to-be 26-year-old yet to play a regular-season NFL snap, Armstrong faces long odds to make the roster. He wants to prove to his coaches how hard he will work for any opportunity.
“Whatever I can do to help the team,” he stated of his ambitions. “Wherever it is. If it’s on offense, special teams, if they need a safety. Wherever they need to put me, I’m just here to work and be the best player that I can be.”
