After a disastrous 2025 season plagued by Patrick Mahomes’ injury and an offensive collapse, the Kansas City Chiefs are sparing no effort to rebuild their empire. Having already added Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, they are now addressing Travis Kelce’s impending retirement by actively hunting for his future successor. That urgent search for depth and a long-term apprentice led them straight to their latest move.

With NFL general managers putting the finishing touches on their 90-man rosters before the summer break, the Chiefs have now signed former 49ers tight end Mason Pline.

According to NBC Sports, Pline took part in tryouts with the Chiefs earlier this month before signing with the team. And once the Chiefs traded offensive tackle Wanya Morris to the Atlanta Falcons, a roster spot opened up for him. He joins the tight end room headlined by Travis Kelce. Noah Gray and Jared Wiley are also returning to the position for the upcoming season.

Because Pline has never played a regular-season NFL snap, he is currently going to act as a depth piece in the tight end room. However, the Chiefs are looking at his specific physical tools rather than his experience. Standing at 6-foot-7 and 260 pounds, he brings immense size to the roster. And as it turns out, football wasn’t his first choice in college.

Pline highlighted his unique backstory during his 2024 interview with 49ers beat reporter Larry Krueger. He grew up in Fowler, Michigan, a town with a population of approximately 1,000 residents. He stated that his high school graduation class consisted of just 43 students. Before football became his bread and butter, basketball was Pline’s primary focus.

The 6-foot-7 tight end played college basketball at Ferris State, and across three seasons, he averaged 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 83 games. He converted to football full-time at Ferris State in 2021, where he won back-to-back Division II National Championships in 2021 and 2022. He then transferred to Furman University for his final college season. There, he tallied 32 receptions for 287 yards and four touchdowns at Furman.

His TD total led the team that year, and his best performance came against Western Carolina, where he went off for 88 yards and a touchdown. The 26-year-old made his way to the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers in 2024 before spending the entire season on their practice squad. The New Orleans Saints then claimed him off waivers on August 5, 2025.

On August 10, he suffered an upper-body injury during a preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers, so he spent the rest of the season on the Injured/Reserve list. The injury forced him to miss the entire 2025 NFL season. As of June 2026, Pline is fully healthy and has moved past the issue. His big frame can prove to be a very useful weapon for the red and white if they are able to groom him correctly. During his interview with Krueger, Pline expressed confidence that his frame could be an advantage.

“It was about 37 inches vertical when I peaked at it. Anytime I see a smaller DB, even if he’s on me, I feel like I’m open. Just put the ball where only I can get it,” Pline said to Kruger.

Andy Reid will most certainly look to maximize Pline’s physical strengths, and if anything, he may see his role elevated to Kelce’s backup. And honestly, there are past precedents where a basketball player took on the tight end role and flourished in it. Remember Antonio Gates? He did not play a single down of college football. As a power forward, he led Kent State University to the Elite Eight in 2002. After being undrafted in the NBA, Gates decided to arrange an NFL tryout instead.

A sharp coach for the San Diego Chargers saw his basketball tape, and that’s when the Chargers signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2003. It’s needless to say that he had to learn everything right from scratch, but that was worth it. He caught 116 touchdowns, which is the most by any tight end in NFL history. Gates finished his career with 955 receptions and 11,841 receiving yards.

And guess what? Just last year, Antonio Gates made history by becoming the first player ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without having played college football. Mason Pline might have a similar trajectory at Missouri, only if he gets the right guidance.

Kansas City Chiefs’ receiving concerns

The Kansas City Chiefs’ offense struggled last season, putting in their worst showing in the Mahomes era yet. According to FOX Sports data, the Chiefs finished 16th in the league in passing offense, and Mahomes put together his worst campaign yet. He threw for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, with a passer rating of 89.6.

Travis Kelce was the Chiefs’ leading pass catcher last year with 851 yards, which was an underwhelming season by his standards, as he regularly surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving mark just a few years ago.

Another glaring issue was that no Chiefs wide receiver went for more than 600 yards last season. Statistically, the most successful receiver for the team last year was Marquise Brown, who went off for 587 yards, and he’s not even with the team anymore.

Rashee Rice, who is Kansas City’s top target, has been dealing with a bunch of off-the-field legal and medical issues. For context, just last month, Rice underwent knee cleanup surgery and also spent 30 days in jail for a probation violation regarding his multi-car crash in Dallas in 2024. He was released from jail on June 16. Xavier Worthy is also entering the offseason after undergoing shoulder surgery in January.

These are the Chiefs’ top two receivers, and so far, they have made no major additions to their receiving corps aside from drafting Cincinnati wide receiver Cyrus Allen in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

So it remains to be seen how much of a boost Pline would actually be for the Chiefs.