Arrowhead Pride
While the Kansas City Chiefs are winless through two games of their preseason, there have been some bright spots. Multiple players have made cases for being included in Week 1’s 53-man roster. One of them has been tight end Robert Tonyan.
A veteran of seven NFL seasons — five of them with the Green Bay Packers, for whom he was an undrafted free agent out of Indiana State in 2018 — Tonyan hasn’t caught a regular-season pass since 2023, when he was with the Chicago Bears. He spent most of the 2024 season on the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad before being released (and signed to the Chiefs’ taxi squad) in December.
Now 31, Tonyan is at an age where many NFL players would be ready to call it a career. But the journeyman has made his case through camp (and the preseason) to not only make the 53-man roster, but also be the team’s third tight end.
Through two preseason games, Tonyan leads all Chiefs with eight receptions for 90 yards — and also recorded one of Kansas City’s two receiving touchdowns.
He’s looked like he did during his third season with the Packers, when he made his name as a big-bodied contested-catch target by registering 586 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns — which tied the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce for the most by a tight end in 2020.
Unfortunately for Tonyan, he’s never matched that production since then.
Tonyan started with what appeared to be a difficult path to Kansas City’s roster. The tight end room has been packed during the offseason, with Jared Wiley coming back from injury and the additions of Jake Briningstool, Tre Watson and Geor’quarius Spivey.
While Tonyan began as a long shot, he has worked his way into a position to make the roster — and while doing so, has established solid chemistry with the Chiefs’ quarterbacks.
On a rainy, blustery evening on the Seattle Seahawks’ Lumen Field last Friday, Kansas City sat its key starters, opening up more opportunities for reserve players. Tonyan was able to make the most of this chance, showing that he still has athleticism — and a knack for making plays on the fly.
Here, Tonyan’s pre-snap motion causes an opposing defensive back to come across the formation with him, telling Gardner Minshew (and the rest of the offense) that the Seahawks are playing man coverage.
This play is designed for Minshew to fake a handoff, roll out and find one of the players flowing his way. Unfortunately, everyone is covered. Skyy Moore can’t create separation on his route, the linebacker is waiting for Carson Steele in the flat and Spivey is essentially a decoy to sell the run fake.
Tonyan is the clear-out man — but as Minshew starts to improvise, the tight end catches the defensive back by surprise as he works back to the inside. Finding himself open just as Minshew is ready to deliver a throw, Tonyan secures the pass for the touchdown....
