After an underwhelming 6-11 season last year, the Kansas City Chiefs want to steer clear of preseason injuries ahead of the new season, but the problems are only piling on. An offensive tackle depth issue emerged in training camp, which has now led the team to waive an injured OT who began his career with the Dallas Cowboys.

On Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs confirmed on X that they have waived backup OT Matt Waletzko with an injury designation. This opened a spot on their roster that the Chiefs used to sign UFL’s Kellen Diesch.

Waletzko’s misery emerged during the Chiefs’ August 17 training camp practice, when he injured his knee, a not-so-new issue. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed the injury after practice but couldn’t estimate its seriousness.

“Today, [Matt] Waletzko hurt his knee out here,” Reid shared. “Not sure how bad it is. We’ll just get it checked here.”

Get The Huddle Newsletter. The day's biggest NFL stories — rivalries, matchups, expert analysis, power rankings, and insider draft news.

Following that, Waletzko, who was a fifth-round pick (N0. 155) by the Dallas Cowboys in 2022 and played only 11 games across three seasons, missed practice on August 18 and 19. With less than a month to go before the season opener, Reid had no choice but to make a swift decision and sign a more reliable OT.

As a result, 28-year-old Kellen Diesch gets another shot in the NFL. He brings solid experience to the team, as he played college football at Texas A&M and Arizona State. He entered the 2022 NFL Draft but went undrafted. However, he impressed teams at the NFL Scouting Combine that year by running the 40-yard dash in 4.89 seconds, a 97th-percentile score, and scoring an 89th-percentile burst score and an 83rd-percentile agility score.

After the draft, Diesch signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent, but was waived before the Chicago Bears’ practice squad took him in. He has signed with half a dozen NFL teams, but he never played in an NFL regular-season game.

Diesch then moved to the UFL, where he played for four different UFL teams during the 2025 and 2026 seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, he played different positions on the offensive line in 2026. He took 130 snaps at left tackle, 14 at left guard, 66 at right guard, and 64 at right tackle.

The Chiefs will now use him on the third-team offensive line because Waletzko’s knee injury left the group short on players. But besides this swap, the team is also keeping some key players out for their second preseason game on Saturday.

Andy Reid Shares Key Chiefs Injury Updates Before Buccaneers Match-up

At their preseason opener last Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs left with only one injured player, Chu Godrick, who injured his ankle. However, this week in practice, they stacked up multiple injuries on top of that. After Thursday’s practice, head coach Andy Reid gave an update on that front before Saturday’s preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Linebacker Jack Cochrane and safety Chamarri Conner tried to practice on Thursday, but the Chiefs had to pull them out because they were not fully ready. As for those who are confirmed to miss Saturday’s game with injuries are WR Jeff Caldwell with a hyperextended knee, DE Ashton Gillotte with a ruptured plantar fascia, WR Jimmy Holiday with a quad injury, OT Josh Simmons with a back injury, and guard Trey Smith with a hip issue.

A silver lining in his revelation was that Gillotte and Simmons haven’t sustained serious injuries, but the team wanted to be cautious to have them ready before the regular season.

“Yeah, (Ashton Gillotte and Josh Simmons) they’re not—these aren’t like extended injuries. They’ll be back in, just nicks and bruises type thing. So, they’re working through them, and they’ll be back in and going,” Reid said. “(Trey Smith) He’s making progress, so yeah.”

Patrick Mahomes will also sit out the preseason game, as he did during the 12-20 home loss against the LA Rams. Reid plans to use the same three quarterbacks who played in the Chiefs’ first preseason game and were overshadowed by the Rams’ Ty Simpson, who completed 21 of 25 passes, including two touchdowns.

For the Chiefs, Garrett Nussmeier showed promise, completing 13 of 19 passes for 98 yards, including an aesthetic move on the run, which went viral on social media. All eyes will again be on him when the Chiefs travel to Raymond James Stadium to take on the Buccaneers.