Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Zacch Pickens has had a rollercoaster 2025. The Bears waived the 25-year-old defender towards the end of the preseason after only two years in the Windy City, leaving him with an uncertain future.
However, it didn’t take long for Pickens to find his next opportunity. Three days after being let go by Chicago, the Kansas City Chiefs picked up the former third-round pick. For Pickens, this seems like the perfect place to get back on track, playing with a perennial Super Bowl contender.
And not to mention, the Chiefs’ defensive tackle depth leaves much to be desired, so who's to say that he wouldn't get a chance to see the field? On Sunday, it appeared that Pickens was set to make his Chiefs’ debut as he was called up from the practice squad on Saturday.
But just a couple of hours before kickoff, the Chiefs announced that Pickens was among their inactive players for Sunday’s game against the Chargers.
Former Bear Zacch Pickens Must Wait Another Week for His Chiefs Debut
Most of the time, when a player is called from the practice squad, they’ll usually be active for the gameday roster. Now, it's not guaranteed that they will actually play. However, most teams like to have the necessary depth for gameday just in case someone is ruled out at the last minute.
For Pickens, he was likely hoping to make his debut after his Bears’ tenure ended on a sour note.
The Bears selected Pickens in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft, hoping he could play a sizable role on their defensive line. As a rookie in 2023, he was a rotational defensive lineman, only playing 25% of defensive snaps.
He appeared in all 17 games, but only had 20 combined tackles, two quarterback hits, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, a pass deflection, and a half sack. However, Pickens seemingly took a step back in his second year, playing in nine games. He also made three starts, but was slowed down by a groin injury.
As we know, the Bears revamped their defensive tackle depth in the offseason, which did not bode well for Pickens’ future. To his credit, Pickens racked up six tackles, but it wasn’t good enough to stick around to kick off the Ben Johnson regime.
Now, he hopes to get on the field with the Chiefs over the next few weeks, who were officially eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday. Kansas City has nothing to gain or lose at this point, meaning head coach Andy Reid might try to give bubble players like Pickens a chance to see some action.
As a practice squad member, Pickens can be called up two more times to the active roster before Kansas City has to decide whether to sign him to the 53-man roster. If that happens and he successfully impresses Reid & Co., the ex-Bear might have a future in Kansas City after all.