Chiefs re-sign tight end, add former No. 1-ranked high school player at D-tackle

The Chiefs have added some stability to their tight-end position, while also taking a flier on a former top-ranked high school player on defense.

Kansas City re-signed tight end Blake Bell to a one-year deal, a source close to the situation confirmed to The Star on Friday. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport first reported the agreement.

Bell, 31, has previously played with KC in the 2019, 2021 and 2022 seasons. Last year, however, he was limited after suffering a preseason hip flexor injury that required surgery before the regular season; he returned to play three regular-season games and one playoff game for the Chiefs, contributing three catches for 24 yards with a touchdown.

The Chiefs have two other tight ends — Travis Kelce and Noah Gray — under contract for next season, while previously extending a qualifying tender this month to tight end Jody Fortson as an exclusive rights free agent.

KC also added defensive tackle Byron Cowart on Friday, his agency JL Sports announced. The 26-year-old Cowart, who played last season with the Indianapolis Colts, was at one time ranked the No. 1 high school player in the nation by both Rivals and ESPN.

Cowart, who spent three years at Auburn in college before transferring to Maryland, was a fifth-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent two seasons there before missing the 2021 season with injury. After that, he was waived by the Patriots before joining the Colts, contributing 12 combined tackles with two tackles-for-loss in 17 games.

The Chiefs later in the afternoon added another defensive tackle, this time with a player who spent time on the practice squad last season. Phil Hoskins posted on Instragram a photo of him signing a contract in the team’s cafeteria. A source confirmed with The Star that the 6-foot-5, 285-pound Hoskins signed a free-agent deal.

Hoskins originally entered the league in 2021 out of Kentucky as a seventh-round pick with the Carolina Panthers.