Jerick McKinnon reportedly returning to Kansas City Chiefs on one-year deal
The Kansas City Chiefs and Jerick McKinnon have agreed to a reunion, with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reporting Monday morning that the veteran running back is coming back to the franchise on a one-year deal.
Contract terms haven’t been announced or reported yet.
McKinnon played in 13 games last year but tallied just 25 total touches and 169 yards from scrimmage for the regular season. In the playoffs, however, the six-year veteran amassed 315 scrimmage yards in just three games.
His role increased due to injuries in the Chiefs’ running backs room late last season, but the team, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, instantly expressed confidence in McKinnon.
“I’ve seen it from training camp on that he’s a playmaker,” Mahomes said. “I mean there’s a reason he’s been a playmaker in this league for the last few years here. Obviously, he’s dealt with injuries in his career, and he dealt with a little bit of injury this season, but he’s kept his mindset right, he kept working hard and I knew with some other guys kind of being down and dinged up, he would step up and fill in nicely.”
With McKinnon back in the fold, Kansas City has an even more talented and experienced, albeit crowded, backfield. Clyde Edwards-Helaire will be entering his third season in 2022 and the Chiefs also brought back exclusive-rights free agent Derrick Gore, while former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Ronald Jones signed with the team as an unrestricted free agent. Plus, in the seventh round of this year’s NFL draft, the Chiefs took running back Isaih Pacheco out of Rutgers.
The Chiefs’ only major departure at running back this offseason was Darrel Williams, who signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals last month.
Kansas City’s mandatory minicamp will run Tuesday-Thursday this week, then the team will reconvene for training camp some time in mid-late July.
