KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Along with the rest of the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs have to trim their roster to 53 players by Tuesday afternoon ahead of the 2022 regular season.
It can be a nervy time for players on the bubble to make the active roster.
“Unfortunately, I’ve seen both sides of it,” Chiefs wide receiver Daurice Fountain said. “I’ve made teams and I’ve got cut, so you just have to give it to God and go out there and do whatever you can. Each day I’m just trying to find a way to get better and be more valuable for the team, no matter if that’s special teams or playing different positions and knowing all the positions.”
Fountain hopes to make the Chiefs as the sixth wide receiver. He made a team roster out of camp for the first time last season.
“Everybody wants to make the team, you know,” Fountain said. “You're really just hoping and praying that you do, but it was a great feeling.”
Linebacker Darius Harris also got to experience the thrill of making a 53-man roster out of training camp a season ago.
He and Fountain are widely considered good bets to make the Chiefs’ roster again, but the final decision isn’t up to them, which can make for an anxious wait.
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“I’m confident that I’m definitely going to make it, but obviously that’s not up to me,” Harris said. “I just put my best foot forward throughout the offseason, throughout camp and through these preseason games. Hopefully, I’ve shown enough.”
Harris has served as Nick Bolton’s backup at middle linebacker. He’s spent much of training camp and the preseason with a green dot on the back of his helmet, an indication that he’s responsible for communicating the defensive play call from the sideline to the players on the field.
The Chiefs’ coaching staff don’t entrust that duty lightly.
“It’s definitely an honor for them to put me in a position to lead these guys and trust me to get everybody in the right position to be able to make plays,” Harris said.
Both Fountain and Harris have embraced the idea that carving out a role on special teams is critical to making the back end of a roster.
Harris logged the most preseason snaps at both linebacker and among the linebacker group on special teams, according to KSHB Sports Producer Nick Jacobs.
Fountain also saw plenty of special-teams action in addition to some productive snaps on offense.
“It’s really about effort, to be honest with you,” Fountain said of being a special-teams ace. “They say that every time, ‘We can’t coach effort.’ You go out there and give it your all and a play is eventually going to come to you. I try to do that every time.”
Fountain said he prides himself on being able to get off the line, a skill that comes in handy as a gunner on punt coverage, and that he spends time studying film to improve at the craft.
Harris also said that he “hit the books harder” in preparation for 2022, which allowed him to have a better understanding of Steve Spagnuolo’s defense and the principles that guide it.
“I feel like confidence, just being my fourth year in the system, being confident in the defense, (has been key),” Harris said. “I laid it all on the line and had the best three games that I could. Hopefully, I make the 53-man roster and it would definitely be an honor to make the cut and be on the active roster the whole season.”
