On Tuesday, the Kansas City Chiefs executed a trade to acquire wide receiver Josh Downs from the Indianapolis Colts. To make room on the 53-man roster, the Chiefs reportedly waived rookie defensive end Jack Pyburn. Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com was the first to report it, but Pyburn was not the only player cut after the midseason move.
On Wednesday morning, the team also announced that
wide receiver and return specialist Nikko Remigio was waived. He has been the Chiefs’ primary returner for three seasons, but he is now on waivers and will likely return to the team’s practice squad by the end of the week if he clears.
The former undrafted free agent out of Fresno State in 2023 went from training-camp darling to starter by the 2024 season. To this day, his most memorable play may be the 41-yard punt return in the first half of the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills, which set up a touchdown drive and helped clinch a third consecutive trip to the Super Bowl.
In each of his three NFL seasons, Remigio’s punt-return average has dropped. In the 2024 regular season, he averaged 9.5 yards per punt return, but this season his average is 5.6 yards; out of 14 “qualified” punt returners, that is the lowest average in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference.
Rookie running back Emmett Johnson has emerged as a strong option for kick returns, and rookie wideout Cyrus Allen has repped the returner spot in the preseason and last week, though he fumbled his one shot.
It will be worth seeing if Downs becomes an option for Kansas City on punt returns. This season, Downs has returned only two punts for 20 yards, but he has 32 career punt returns in the NFL and averages 9.8 yards per return.
