Ashton Gillotte anchored Louisville’s defense as the Cardinals won 19 games across the first two years of the Jeff Brohm era. Now, the former star edge rusher is looking to establish himself on an NFL roster after he was selected in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gillotte has primarily found himself matched up with the franchise’s first-round selection, left tackle Josh Simmons from Ohio State, and that heated competition led the two rookies to blows during a team session of an early training camp practice. Simmons threw the first punch at Gillotte, which was quickly answered, and the two had to be separated by their teammates.
Here’s a look at the confrontation from Mark Poulose of KCTV5:
Here is a clean shot of the Josh Simmons/Ashton Gillotte fight at Chiefs Training Camp#ChiefsKingdom | @KCTV5 pic.twitter.com/aG02HNMSVe
— Mark Poulose (@MarkPoulose) July 29, 2025
Ashton Gillotte impressing at Chiefs training camp
Following their 40-22 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs had a desperate need for offensive tackle help. Drafting Simmons, who missed much of his final year with the Buckeyes due to a knee injury, was their solution, and as such, he has drawn much of the offseason attention. Gillotte, however, has started to steal a few headlines in KC, and not just for his fighting ability.
Even Andy Reid has named Gillotte as somebody “trying to chase a starting spot” during training camp. That won’t be easy with established veterans George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, Charles Omenihu, and Felix Anudike-Uzomah atop the depth chart at defensive end, but even the mention from the future Hall of Fame head coach is promising.
Gillotte’s sack total dipped to just 4.5 in his final year with the Cardinals, a far cry from his career-high of 11 in 2023. However, he was nearly as disruptive, managing 57 QB pressures, one shy of the high-water mark set the previous year, and his pass-rush win-rate actually jumped from 9.7 percent to over 20 percent. That pass-rushing prowess has seemingly translated to his first training camp, could lead to significant playing time in Year 1 with the Chiefs, and unfortunately for Louisville, won't be easy to replace..
A fight likely wasn’t the way that Gillotte expected to get on the radar of the fervent fanbase in Kansas City and the franchise’s legendary head coach. But he appears to be taking advantage of the heightened scrutiny leading up to the Chiefs' first preseason game on Saturday night in Arizona.