[Editor's note: This story was updated Monday, Aug. 26, after the Chiefs signed wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.]
General Manager Brett Veach’s instinct may be to try and churn the back end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ roster, but that’s a difficult task having the last priority on the waiver wire.
Inevitably, any potential roster upgrades who get cut by other teams will be snapped up well before a Chiefs claim could be processed.
That leaves a trade for a late-round pick as the most likely option for Veach to make a move, but those are finite resources.
No matter what Veach’s instincts say after a sloppy preseason, Kansas City’s probably going to have to dance with the dates they brought into training camp for the most part.
The NFL deadline to trim rosters to 53 players arrives at 3 p.m. Central on Tuesday. Practice squads start to get formed Wednesday.
Here’s what that cutdown might look like:
QUARTERBACKS (2)
53-man roster: Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz
Practice squad: Chris Oladokun
No need to overanalyze this one.
RUNNING BACKS (3)
53-man roster: Isaiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Carson Steele
Practice squad: Deneric Prince, Louis Rees-Zammit
Hollywood Brown’s injury, which may force Kansas City to keep seven wide receivers, probably prevents the Chiefs from keeping four tight ends and four running backs.
Prince seems likely to clear waivers while Irv Smith Jr. — a vested veteran — could look to sign elsewhere, so he’s the player I’ll project to get cut during the initial roster construction.
Rees-Zammit is an intriguing prospect and worth keeping around for developmental reasons, but if the Chiefs need another true RB backup, Keaontay Ingram could stick around on the practice squad.
WIDE RECEIVERS (7)
53-man roster: Hollywood Brown, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman Jr., Skyy Moore, JuJu Smith-Schuster
Practice squad: Nikko Remigio, Cornell Powell, Justyn Ross
With Brown’s injury and the prospect that he’ll miss the first game or two, the Chiefs probably will start the season with seven wide receivers. It’s possible Remigio makes the 53-man roster in place of Moore or Hardman, but he seems the most likely from that group to clear waivers and return to the practice squad.
Kansas City may not be ready to give up on Moore, a former second-round pick, but Kadarius Toney’s time with the Chiefs may be at an end.
Chiefs Kingdom will always have the longest punt return in Super Bowl history to reminisce about fondly.
The signing of JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was productive in his only season with the Chiefs two years ago, made Ross the odd man out in this exercise, but it's also possible it signals that Kansas City's ready to move on from Moore.
I give Moore the edge for his special-teams value relative to Ross in this situation.
If a third receiver sticks around on the practice squad, Ross makes sense and so does Montrell Washington, who could get the nod over Powell given his special-teams ability.
TIGHT ENDS (4)
53-man roster: Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Jared Wiley, Irv Smith Jr.
Practice squad: n/a
Smith is the only question mark here, but the Chiefs don’t often sign veteran players only to jettison them before the season.
It’s always possible Veach works out a deal to cut Smith, a vested veteran who would skip waivers and become a free agent, then bring him back after other roster machinations, which Kansas City has done in the past to manage cutdowns.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9)
53-man roster: Kingsley Suamataia, Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Jawaan Taylor, Wanya Morris, Mike Caliendo, Hunter Nourzad, Lucas Niang
Practice squad: C.J. Hanson, Ethan Driskell, Chukwuebuka Godrick, Nick Torres
If the Chiefs believe Hanson, a seventh-round pick last spring, can make it through waivers, that’s probably the best option. He may need more time before he’s able to contribute.
Driskell and Torres also have shown some promise.
It’s also possible that Morris, who left Thursday’s game with a knee injury, could start the season on injured reserve with a designation to return. A tweak to NFL rules would allow that, unlike past seasons, and give Kansas City the flexibility to keep Hanson without exposing him to waivers.
DEFENSIVE LINE (9)
53-man roster: George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, Chris Jones, Tershawn Wharton, Malik Herring, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Mike Pennel, Derrick Nnadi, Neil Farrell Jr.
Practice squad: Truman Jones, Matt Dickerson
PUP: Charles Omenihu
NFI: BJ Thompson
It feels like the Chiefs need a big season from Anudike-Uzomah, especially as they await the return of Omenihu.
Honestly, it doesn’t feel like there are many surprises here. Jones could make the 53-man depending on how the special-teams starters shake out and who Veach is confident the team can get back on the practice squad.
It’s also possible the Chiefs add some D-line depth via trade before the roster deadline.
LINEBACKERS (5)
53-man roster: Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, Leo Chenal, Jack Cochrane, Cam Jones
Practice squad: Cole Christiansen, Curtis Jacobs, Swayze Bozeman
It feels like a solid group with plenty of familiarity with Spagnuolo’s system. Now, the Chiefs just have to hope Bolton and Tranquill can stay healthy.
I think the last spot comes down to Jones or Christiansen as a core special-teams player and it may be Jacobs or Bozeman who make the practice squad.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (11)
53-man roster: Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson, Nazeeh Johnson, Justin Reid, Bryan Cook, Jaden Hicks, Chamarri Conner, Deon Bush, Kelvin Joseph, Nic Jones
Practice squad: Ekow Boye-Doe, Keith Taylor, Chris Roland-Wallace, Kamal Hadden
Was the Chiefs’ confidence in its cornerback depth misplaced? Kansas City traded away L’Jarius Sneed with the expectation that McDuffie was a rising star and Watson, Williams and Johnson could hold it down outside.
McDuffie looks the part, but Watson spent most of training camp recovering from a shoulder injury and looked rusty against Chicago. Meanwhile, Johnson is battling back from his own knee injury then tweaked a hamstring midway through camp, and Williams had an uneven preseason.
It’ll be a nervy few weeks before the opener against Baltimore to see how the corners hold up.
Joseph over Taylor was the closest call as far as the initial roster only because Jones has worked more in the slot and on special teams, making him a potentially important insurance policy behind Conner.
That's a lot of defensive backs, but it's a passing league now. It's possible Cole Christiansen or Truman Jones gets the nod based on special-teams usage over Joseph or Jones, but that's not how I'm projecting it for now.
Bush also could get cut and return on special teams as a way to manage the roster, but Veach would want to be certain he'll re-sign given his value to Toub's units and the lack of proven depth at safety.
SPECIALISTS (3)
53-man roster: Harrison Butker, Matt Araiza, James Winchester
Practice squad: n/a
Once again, no need to overanalyze this one.
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