The Kansas City Chiefs waived a recent draft pick on Friday, September 12, and the move was so unexpected that no one on the KC beat seemed to notice until Monday night.
“I can’t believe we all missed this Friday …. the Chiefs reached a non-injury settlement [with] DE BJ Thompson and placed him on waivers,” Chiefs Digest beat reporter Matt Derrick relayed on X.
Derrick added that Thompson “cleared waivers Monday and is now a free agent,” meaning Kansas City has now officially parted ways with the former 2023 fifth-round pick ahead of Week 3.
Will BJ Thompson Choose to Continue His NFL Career After Cardiac Arrest Incident With Chiefs?
If you go by the stat sheet, Thompson’s KC career only lasted one regular season game, a 2023 Week 17 outing in which he logged 28 defensive snaps and another 16 on special teams.
Thompson practically redshirted his rookie year, outside of that Week 17 appearance. He was credited with 2 solo tackles in his lone moment of regular season NFL action.
The plan was likely to develop Thompson behind the scenes as a rookie, then ease him in later in 2024. Unfortunately, that plan never came to fruition due to a scary health incident that occurred at practice in June of 2024.
“In the summer of 2024, Chiefs DE BJ Thompson suffered a cardiac arrest at the team’s practice facility during a team meeting,” A-to-Z Sports Kansas City’s Charles Goldman reminded on September 15. “Harrison Butker alerted the team’s medical staff, who resuscitated Thompson with CPR and a defibrillator, and he was discharged from the hospital four days after the incident.”
“Thompson attended the Chiefs’ Super Bowl ring ceremony, but he stayed on the non-football illness list for the entire 2024 NFL Season,” Goldman added.
Thompson has not suited up for practice or an NFL outing since suffering cardiac arrest. It’s unclear if his football career will continue with another team.
BJ Thompson Likely Seeking Fresh Start After Injury Settlement
The last time head coach Andy Reid referenced Thompson was earlier this spring, when the team waived him and placed him on an injured reserve list.
At the time, Reid told reporters that the long-lost youngster was “making progress” and “great, great strides.” Having said that, he also noted that Thompson was “not quite there yet.”
Based on this new turn of events, it would seem Thompson is looking for a fresh start with another team, seeking an injury settlement to potentially continue his 2025 campaign. However, there’s no telling if Thompson will find an opportunity elsewhere.
With 2023 draftmate Felix Anudike-Uzomah and veteran Janarius Robinson both out for the season, the Chiefs could use help at edge rusher. They’ll presumably continue that search with Thompson now officially moving on.
Through two games, KC’s top pass-rushing leader is defensive end George Karlaftis in terms of quarterback pressures. Per Pro Football Focus, Karlaftis has been credited with 8 QB pressures and a pass-rush win-rate of 8.3%.
Superstar Chris Jones has a better win-rate, at 10.3%, but he’s only managed 4 QB pressures.
Along with Jones underperforming, the other issue is that the rest of the Chiefs’ defensive line has not managed much pressure behind Karlaftis and Jones. Charles Omenihu only has 2 QB pressures through two weeks of football, as does Jerry Tillery, and draft picks Ashton Gillotte and Omarr Norman-Lott each only have 1 pressure apiece.
