Former Pittsburg High School quarterback Chase Curtis is in Florham Park, N.J., this week for the New York Jets rookie minicamp.

Curtis, who was moved to tight end while spending the last six years at TCU, signed a three-year contract as an undrafted free agent with the Jets. And, the negotiations began before last month’s NFL Draft was over.

“It was pretty stressful, but it turned out being good,” Curtis said. “We negotiated at the beginning of the sixth round because the Broncos were interested in me and we thought they might take me with one of their last picks. (The Broncos) had been talking to me a couple of days before the draft, so we thought that was a possibility.

“But I knew I would probably end up with the Jets because that’s who I had been talking with the most. I had my first interview with them not too long after the (college) season (ended). I played in the College Gridiron Showcase (in January in Fort Worth, Texas), and that was the first team to interview me.”

Curtis was in Pittsburg during the draft.

“It was good to be with my dad, my sister, my mom and my buddy Elijah (Harris) in Pittsburg,” he said. “It was cool, but it was a lot of weight off the shoulders.”

Curtis, a 2018 Pittsburg High School graduate, was the Purple Dragons’ quarterback his junior and senior year. He earned all-state honors in football, basketball and baseball.

He played baseball at Neosho County Community College for two years before going to TCU to play football.

“When I got done at Neosho County, I was working in Pittsburg with Drew Roelfs and Alex Kafka at the Neighborhood Walmart,” Curtis said. “I got the call about walking on at TCU.

“Going from that – I thought sports might be over for me – to see where I’m at now, it’s been really cool. I’ve had so many people who have helped me along the way and done so many things for me to get to where I’m at today.”

Curtis began as a special teams player at TCU and was the special teams captain in 2022 when the Horned Frogs advanced to the national championship game before losing to Georgia.

He underwent four surgeries at TCU, but he played in every game last season, finishing with 13 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns. He also was the 2025 TCU Scholar-Athlete of the Year, which was selected by the National Football Foundation’s Gridiron Club of Dallas.

Curtis had 15 receptions in the first eight games of the 2023 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Kansas State. That’s when he began having thoughts about the NFL.

“I had a good first eight games,” Curtis said. “That was my first year at tight end. I played pretty well. I knew it was a long shot, but I was like I could see myself doing this.”