Rapids announce list of protected players for MLS expansion draft, draw LAFC in CONCACAF Champions Cup

The Colorado Rapids are expansion draft-ready. And they’ve got their first action of 2025 lined up.

The club announced its list of protected players Tuesday for San Diego FC’s expansion draft, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

All Homegrowns and Generation Adidas players (Kimani Stewart-Baynes is the only GA on the roster) were automatically protected league-wide. The Rapids selected 12 other players to be protected, which included the two newest Rapids: Chidozie Awaziem and Ian Murphy.

After the automatic and selected protections, the Rapids had to leave five current players vulnerable to the newest MLS club: Andreas Maxsø, Daniel Chacón, Nate Jones, Jasper Löffelsend and Omir Fernández.

The list also included Lalas Abubakar, Jonathan Lewis, Ethan Bandré and Rémi Cabral, but their contracts either expired or had options declined and will likely not return to Colorado, San Diego selection or otherwise.

While some of those names, like Maxsø, Löffelsend and Fernández, may be surprising to see go unprotected, the chances SDFC picks any of them up are relatively low given the league total of 354 available players. And even if SDFC used any of its five picks on a Rapid, new signings and future offseason targets would likely supplement the loss.

Rapids draw LAFC in first round of CONCACAF Champions Cup: Colorado earned a spot in the CCC for the first time since 2022 after taking third place in the 2024 Leagues Cup in a thrilling shootout win over the Philadelphia Union. On Tuesday, the Rapids were drawn into a first-round matchup against LAFC.