Over the past three seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs have been in a constant state of trying to reshuffle and add new pieces to their wide receiver room.

Ever since Tyreek Hill was traded away, the Chiefs have lacked explosiveness on the outside. As a result, they have brought in a lot of names at receiver to try and help solve the problem: DeAndre Hopkins, JuJu Smith-Schuster (a few times), Xavier Worthy, Mecole Hardman (again) and more.

That journey continued on Monday when the Chiefs signed former New England Patriots wide receiver Tyquan Thornton to their practice squad, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.

“Source: Former Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton is signing with the Chiefs practice squad,” Rapoport reported on X, formerly Twitter. “A fresh start for the former second-round pick who was waived Saturday.”

Thornton was a promising rookie for the Patriots back in 2022, when he caught 22 passes and scored two touchdowns in 13 games. However, his role has dropped off dramatically over the past two seasons. This year, Thornton has just four catches for 47 yards in eight games.

Thornton as drafted 50th overall by the Patriots after a stellar four-year career at Baylor where he caught 143 passes for 2,242 yards and 19 touchdowns. The Chiefs are hoping that talent can carry over to Kansas City and he can be a productive wideout for them.

This move comes on the heels of an inconsistent day for the Chiefs offense against the Buffalo Bills where Patrick Mahomes and company struggled to consistently generate chunk plays down the field. That has been a problem for them all year long, and it was bound to cost them a game at some point. Sunday ended up being that day.

No reason to panic about the Chiefs after loss vs. Bills

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The Chiefs have no reason to be concerned that wasn't already there before they lost to the Bills on Sunday. Buffalo didn't expose anything that the Chiefs aren't doing well that everyone didn't already know about.

This Chiefs team isn't a perfect group. The offense isn't explosive at all, and the left tackle spot is one of the biggest weaknesses that any Super Bowl contender currently possesses. The defense is still arguably the best in football, but the second corner spot is a major concern due to the injury to Jaylen Watson.

Those are relatively small issues, but those are the things that decide games between two of the truly elite teams in the NFL. Regardless, this Chiefs team is still on the Super Bowl short list as a true blue contender.

This game is crucial because it puts the Bills firmly in the mix to earn the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the AFC. The Bills are now just a half-game behind the Chiefs for the top spot and own the tiebreaker.

Of course, the Chiefs won a close playoff game in Buffalo last year, so it's not a death sentence at all for them to not earn the top seed. However, it is a potential consequence from this matchup that could be crucial.