Esa Pole’s Unlikely Journey Leads to NFL Debut with Kansas City Chiefs
ARLINGTON, Texas – Esa Pole may not sleep on Wednesday night. The journey to his first NFL game looks a lot like the Six Flags thrill rides he’ll see next to AT&T Stadium.
He officially earned a seat on that team bus Wednesday, when the Chiefs elevated him from the practice squad along with veteran safety Mike Edwards.
That means Pole, one of few NFL players who never played football in high school, is expected to make his NFL debut when the Chiefs visit Dallas on Thanksgiving (3:30 p.m. CT, CBS/KCTV, Channel 5, 96.5 The Fan).
One of the more unique football foundations in recent league history began with a bit of family conflict in the summer of 2021. A year out of high school, he enrolled at Chabot Community College in Hayward, Calif., before moving to Washington State in 2023.
A 6-7, 319-pound lineman, Pole is expected to be active on Thursday because Pro Bowler Trey Smith is expected to miss multiple weeks with an ankle injury. Mike Caliendo will start at right guard, and Pole should dress as a reserve, potentially playing on special teams.
From Kansas City to New York and ... back to Kansas City
Pole signed with the Chiefs after going undrafted in April and spent the entire offseason with Kansas City. He nearly made the team in the final roster reduction, but instead got claimed on waiver by the New York Jets.
But Pole couldn’t capitalize on a great opportunity when a torn triceps ended Alijah Vera-Tucker’s season. Hampered by an ankle injury, Pole was inactive in Week 1 against Pittsburgh and never got back into the Jets’ offensive line. New York waived him seven weeks into the season and, once he cleared waivers, the Chiefs pounced on him Oct. 25.
Edwards to fill void left by Roland-Wallace
Edwards, a 5-10, 205-pound safety out of Kentucky, was released in August at the final roster reduction but re-signed with the Chiefs as a practice-squad veteran. This marks his first elevation this season and Kansas City will need him on both special teams and in coverage because Chris Roland-Wallace is out with lower-back soreness.
Edwards, who won a Super Bowl against Kansas City when he played for the Buccaneers in 2020, had signed a one-year, $2.8 million contract to return to the Chiefs in April as an unrestricted free agent.
Tampa Bay’s third-round selection in the 2019 draft, Edwards has eight career interceptions, three of which he’s returned for touchdowns.
NFL rules allow practice-squad players up to three standard gameday elevations before teams must either release them or sign them to the 53-man roster.
Red Sox Predicted To Re-Sign Alex Bregman, Per Ken Rosenthal
The story of the offseason for the Boston Red Sox is whether or not they will be able to re-sign Alex Bregman.
No matter what else the club does, whatever happens with Bregman will overshadow the other moves. If they can bring him back to town, everyone will be happy. If Bregman walks, the fanbase will not be too pleased unless Boston makes a few wild moves in his place.
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Ken Rosenthal hyped up the Red Sox
Boston already has made a good move by acquiring Sonny Gray. But, again, the Bregman decision will overshadow everything else. Fortunately, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal added some positive fuel to the fire on Wednesday. He was asked on "Foul Territory" about Bregman and said that he expects the three-time All-Star to return to Boston, although he noted that free agency is wild and anything could happen.
"I expect him to be back in Boston," Rosenthal said on "Foul Territory." "In free agency when you say something like this, you're playing with fire because in free agency things happen that you never expect. I say this all the time. It's actually true about all transactions. None of these trades that have happened so far were anticipated by anyone. Free agency can be wild. With Bregman, it was such a good fit. He was so perfect for them. Now, he's going to be perfect in the estimation of other clubs as well and all it takes is one to obviously take him away, but man, he's really the right guy for the Red Sox."
Rosenthal is one of the top insiders in baseball. If he thinks Bregman is going to ultimately return to Boston, that should at least be enough to give the fanbase some hope in the short term. Nothing really matters until a deal is actually signed. A team could always make a wild offer and pull him away -- as the San Diego Padres did by offering Xander Bogaerts a wild $280 million deal -- but stay positive, Red Sox fans. This is the type of update that is a best-case scenario at this time of the offseason.
