One of the pleasant surprises from the Chiefs’ 2021 season was the emergence of practice squad running back Derrick Gore.
Kansas City didn’t initially plan on Gore receiving any real-time snaps in a regular-season game, but injuries to Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon cleared the way for the youngster to have an opportunity to impress the coaching staff, and he did.
On 51 rushing attempts, Gore ran for 256 yards and two touchdowns in eleven games.
Now, Gore is being brought back by the Chiefs via exclusive rights tender, as reported by the Kansas City Star’s Herbie Teope.
Gore bounced around between the Chargers’ and Redskins’ practice teams in 2019 and 2020 before having an impressive preseason with the Chiefs in 2021.
His production wasn’t enough to immediately land a spot on the active roster, but he was brought back as part of the Chiefs’ practice team.
Once the injury bug struck second-year running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and veteran Jerick McKinnon, Gore got his chance and gave the Chiefs an excellent sample of what he can do with the ball in his hands.
However, Gore wasn’t the only exclusive rights free agent that got a tender. Herbie Teope reported on Tuesday night that the team also tendered tight end Jody Fortson.
Fortson entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2019 for the Chiefs, competing for a roster spot as a wide receiver.
Knowing it’d be difficult to make the team with how stacked Kansas City typically is at the position, Fortson put on some pounds and converted to tight end in 2021.
It was a nice transition.
Following a terrific preseason, Fortson made the Chiefs’ Week 1 roster and played well for the first six games, catching all five targets that went his way for 47 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Fortson spent the rest of the 2021 campaign on injured reserve after an Achilles injury derailed his season.
Now that they’re back with the team, both Fortson and Gore will have an opportunity to see even more playing time in 2022.
