Another former Missouri Tiger is New England bound, after the Kansas City Chiefs traded offensive lineman Yasir Durant to the Patriots late Monday night in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft. The move was first reported by Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star.
Durant arrived in Kansas City after being undrafted out of Mizzou in 2020, going on to appear in 11 games in his rookie season for the AFC champions. He split time between right guard and right tackle. Durant adds big time size to the New England front line, standing 6’6″ and weighing 331 pounds.
The Kansas City media began to report on upcoming moves made to trim the Chiefs roster on Tuesday morning, with running backs Darwin Thompson and Derrick Gore among the early cuts. Three wide receivers were also cut, in Darrius Shepherd, Dalton Shoen, and Maurice Ffranch. Offensive lineman Wyatt Miller will be released, along with defenders in end Demone Harris, end Austin Edwards, linebacker Omari Cobb, defensive back Zayne Anderson, and defensive back Devon Key. The Chiefs added to that official list in the afternoon hours defensive back Dicaprio Bootle, quarterback Shane Buechele, defensive back Marlon Character, defensive tackle Tyler Clark, defensive back Rodney Clemmons, defensive back BoPete Keyes, wide receiver Cornell Powell, linebacker Emmanuel Smith, defensive end Tim Ward, offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho, and center Darryl Williams.
Released were wide receivers Gehrig Dieter and Marcus Kemp, with defensive end Malik Herring on the reserve/non-football injury list, guard Kyle Long on the PUP or physically unable to perform list.
The deadline for NFL team s to trim their roster to 53 players in preparation for the regular season arrives at 3 o’clock on Tuesday afternoon. In Foxborough, Durant will become teammates with two former Missouri products, linebacker Terez Hall and rookie safety Joshuah Bledsoe. He is expected to become a back-up behind guard Shaq Mason and tackle Trent Brown with coach Bill Belichick.
