KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Weirdly, Charles Omenihu’s suspension and Chris Jones’ contract holdout might provide extra flexibility as the Kansas City Chiefs eye the NFL’s roster cutdown deadline at 3 p.m. Central on Tuesday.
The Chiefs can move Omenihu to the reserve/suspended list and Jones to the reserve/did not report list as part of the trimming.
It gives GM Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid options when constructing the initial 53-man roster ahead of the Sept. 7 season opener against Detroit at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, a game that can be seen on KSHB 41.
There’s a little bit of an imbalance to the offensive side in this draft of my roster prediction, but that’s largely due to injuries — wide receiver Kadarius Toney and guard Nick Allegretti, most notably.
Also, I have the Chiefs using the vacancies created by Jones and Omenihu to keep a couple extra defensive linemen who normally get cut anyway.
If Veach needs to cut a vested veteran who isn’t subject to waivers to maneuver around injuries or some other roster manipulation, tight end Blake Bell and defensive tackle Danny Shelton are the most likely candidates because of the structure of their contracts.
Keep that in mind if there’s a head-scratcher come Tuesday afternoon.
TOUGHEST OFFENSIVE CUT: WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette
Man, he had some dominant games and I liked his tape coming out of Iowa, but there’s just not room for eight wide receivers and, as good as his preseason was, who are you cutting to keep Smith-Marsette?
TOUGHEST DEFENSIVE CUT: CB Kahlef Hailassie
Honestly, I had almost no idea who he was before training camp, but he continually impressed and shined bright during the preseason games. He’s a quality developmental prospect with good size (6 feet, 1 inch), but I think the Chiefs are more likely to keep an extra veteran safety and stash Hailassie for insurance, if possible.
Anyway, here’s Tod Palmer’s projected initial 53-man roster:
OFFENSE (26)
QUARTERBACKS (3)
Patrick Mahomes, Blaine Gabbert, Shane Buechele
With the ability to designate a third QB on game day — effectively a 49th active player, if teams desire — all three seem to be safe bets to make the roster. Reid values Gabbert’s veteran presence in film study and at practice, while Buechele probably has played too well to make it through waivers for a possible practice-squad stash.
The Chiefs’ championship hopes largely evaporate if Mahomes suffers a significant injury, but Gabbert and Buechele seem capable of winning games or stepping in during key moments, a role now-retired former backup QB Chad Henne executed spectacularly in recent postseasons.
Biggest roster battle: Backup QB
Mahomes is the face of the Chiefs and the NFL, so his place is secure. But the battle to serve as Mahomes’ backup has intrigued parts of Chiefs Kingdom in recent weeks.
In the end, Gabbert seemingly outperformed Buechele during the preseason, throwing five touchdowns against one interception and averaging 2.4 yards more yards per attempt.
Buechele had a higher completion percentage, but he also threw three interceptions.
The rest: Chris Oladokun
Okladokun put some nice moments on tape. He’s clearly a cut below the other QBs on the roster, but could stick around on the practice squad again.
RUNNING BACKS (4)
Isaiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, La’Mical Perine
Pacheco established himself as the Chiefs’ top workhorse back last season, while McKinnon is a massive asset on passing downs with his incredible blitz pickup skills.
The Chiefs have leaned on Edwards-Helaire with Pacheco out during the preseason, so he’s a good bet to stick around as insurance if nothing else (barring a trade Veach can’t turn down, which seems unlikely).
Biggest roster battle: The fourth RB
With the Chiefs likely to keep seven wide receivers, there doesn’t seem to be a path for five running backs to make the initial 53-man roster.
Prince seemed like a lock early in camp, given his role atop the team’s depth chart at kick returner. But some underwhelming preseason performances weighed against much stronger performances from Perine may tip the scales against the undrafted rookie from Tulsa.
One makes the roster and the other probably lands on the practice squad.
With the preseason complete, I think Perine gets the first crack on the roster with Prince starting on the practice squad. He showed far more explosiveness — including his weaving, tackle-breaking 20-yard touchdown catch and run Saturday against Cleveland — and took the job from Prince.
The rest: Deneric Prince, Jerrion Ealy
Prince should stick around on the practice squad possibly along with Ealy, a shifty player who catches the ball well out of the backfield and also can line up outside the tackles.
TIGHT ENDS (3)
Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Blake Bell
Kelce and Gray are givens and I’m including Bell here, because he’s the best blocker of the bunch. Also, what would the Chiefs do in short-yardage without the Belldozer?
That said, Bell is one of a small handful of vested veterans with no guaranteed money, making him a candidate to be cut and brought back later after further roster manipulations — for example, if Kansas City wanted to put a player like Kadarius Toney on injured reserve for the first four weeks.
Any player who goes on IR before the roster cutdown is done for the season, but injured players the team hopes to bring back have to make the initial 53-man roster to be eligible for the in-season IR.
Bell’s contract provides flexibility — think Marcus Kemp a couple years ago — because he’s accrued enough service time that he wouldn’t be subject to the waiver wire process and the structure of his contract allows him to be waived and re-signed without hamstringing the cap-starved Chiefs.
Biggest roster battle: Fourth tight end?
Kansas City has kept four tight ends in recent years, but with Jody Fortson, whose athleticism and red-zone presence set him apart, on injured reserve for the season the question becomes: Has Matt Bushman shown enough to command a roster spot?
Bushman is the obvious choice if the Chiefs keep four tight ends again, but with the depth at other spots — wide receiver, running back and offensive line along with the new third-QB rule — a fourth tight end might be viewed more as a luxury than a need.
The rest: Matt Bushman, Kendall Blanton, Izaiah Gathings
Bushman and Blanton, a former star at Blue Springs South and Mizzou, would be candidates for the practice squad if another team doesn’t pluck either from waivers.
WIDE RECEIVERS (7)
Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, Richie James, Justin Watson, Rashee Rice, Justyn Ross
None of these are particularly shocking — or at least they shouldn’t be.
The Chiefs have been likely to keep seven receivers since Kadarius Toney had meniscus surgery early in training camp and Ross’ upside puts him in the lock category for me.
James’ special-teams value makes him indispensable, especially if Kansas City opts for Perine over Prince and creates a hole at kick returner.
Biggest roster battle: How many WRs to keep?
Ihmir Smith-Marsette played well enough to make the roster. There’s no doubt about that, and it would be stunning if no other NFL team claimed him off waivers should the Chiefs cut him.
He also adds special-teams value in the return game, but the roster numbers make it unlikely the Chiefs keep eight receivers — even if there are plans to move Toney to IR after 3 p.m. on Tuesday and burn the first month of his season.
I could envision a world where Kansas City tries to manipulate the roster to extract some trade value or find a way to keep him around via the practice squad, but that’s a lot of effort and Veach/Reid may be more likely to say thanks and wish him luck finding a team with a clear spot for him.
The rest: Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Cornell Powell, Juwan Green, Nikko Remigio, Ty Fryfogle
Remigio and Fryfogle impressed during camp and preseason games. Powell also seemed to make strides compared to his first two seasons as a practice-squad regular.
All three are candidates to stick around via the practice squad again along with Smith-Marsette, if the rest of the NFL is blind to what he did this summer.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9)
Donovan Smith, Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Jawaan Taylor, Nick Allegretti, Lucas Niang, Wanya Morris, Darian Kinnard
Kansas City upgraded its tackle spots — perhaps depending on how you view Orlando Brown Jr., but I stand by the analysis — and have arguably the best starting interior offensive line in the NFL. In fact, it may not be close with Thuney, Humphrey and Smith protecting Mahomes up the gut.
Allegretti is an NFL starter. The Chiefs are fortunate that he wanted to stick around in a reserve/sixth lineman role.
He also missed the preseason finale with a shoulder injury, which means keeping their next best guard (Kinnard) is mandatory.
Kansas City will keep two tackles as well, including Morris as a developmental prospect picked in the third round last April and slotted third on the depth chart at left tackle.
Biggest roster battle: Backup OT job
It’s hard to imagine the Chiefs cutting Lucas Niang, so that probably leaves Prince Tegas Wanogho as the odd man out.
Wanogho has been a practice-squad staple in recent seasons and probably will be again in 2023, barring an unexpected move involving Niang.
The rest: Prince Tega Wanogho, Mike Caliendo, Sebastian Gutierrez, Austin Reiter, Jerome Carvin, Jason Godrick, Anderson Hardy
Wanogho, Reiter, Caliendo and Carvin seem like the most likely candidates for the practice squad.
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE (9*)
George Karlaftis, Chris Jones*, Derrick Nnadi, Mike Danna, Charles Omenihu, Danny Shelton, Tershawn Wharton, Malik Herring, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Keondre Coburn, BJ Thompson
Unless something changes with Jones in the next 24-ish hours, he and Omenihu won’t count toward the Chiefs’ 53-man roster — at least not right away.
That provides some flexibility to keep extra bodies up front, which may come in handy with Jones’ availability for the opener in question and Omenihu suspended for the first six games. He’ll return Oct. 22 against the Los Angeles Chargers, which could be sooner than Jones if social media is to be believed.
Essentially, it provides an elongated evaluation period before roster decisions inevitably need to be made.
Shelton has dropped weight and looked nimble during the preseason, a hopeful sign that he can be a productive player in 2023 after spending 2022 on the practice squad.
Biggest roster battle: More chances to impress
With each passing day, it becomes increasingly unlikely Jones will take the field Sept. 7 against Detroit — and maybe that’s part of the plan, giving the Chiefs a taste of life without the All-Pro defensive tackle.
If the defensive line flops versus the Lions, it could help provide ammo for Jones’ reps at a negotiating table.
But it also provides an opportunity for the young linemen on the roster — and a chance for Kansas City's coaches to continue the evaluation process.
Coupled with Omenihu’s absence, Karlaftis gets a chance to hone his leadership skills alongside Danna and Nnadi.
Anudike-Uzomah, Coburn and maybe even Thompson will get their NFL trial by fire, which should pay off later in the season even if there are short-term struggles.
It also gives Herring a chance for his most significant action and a chance to prove his ability to impact games on Sundays.
The rest: Joshua Kaindoh, Truman Jones, Daniel Wise, Phil Hoskins, Matt Dickerson, Chris Williams
Any of the projected cuts would seem logical choices for the practice squad, but there aren’t many surprises here.
Kaindoh, like Powell from the same draft class, seemed to turn a corner this offseason into a more productive player. But also like Powell, it’s unlikely to turn into a spot on the Chiefs’ initial roster.
Hey, remember when Hoskins blocked a field-goal try to preserve a preseason win? That’s a highlight he can always tell his grandkids about!
LINEBACKERS (5)
Willie Gay Jr., Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, Leo Chenal, Jack Cochrane
These four provide an athletic, versatile, battle-tested and physical nucleus for the linebacking corps. The quartet should make plenty of plays with Gay and Tranquill especially motivated in contract years.
Biggest roster battle: Did Christiansen do enough?
Cole Christiansen stuck around on the practice squad last season and even played against Buffalo, but he’s yet to supplant Cochrane as a core special teams player and the Chiefs aren’t likely to keep a sixth linebacker. So, no — to bluntly answer the question posed.
The rest: Cole Christiansen, Cam Jones, Olakunie Fatukasi
Christiansen and Jones are good bets to land on the practice squad.
CORNERBACKS (5)
Trent McDuffie, L’Jarius Sneed, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson, Nic Jones
Sneed’s knee injury is concerning, if only because it seems recurring and ongoing, but the good news is there’s some depth built into the roster.
The knee injury, which Reid described as swelling a few weeks ago, probably will need to be managed all season, which is a bummer for the former fourth-round pick in a contract year, and could make him an injury-list staple.
The good news: McDuffie could be ready for his own star turn and both Williams and Watson continued to grow into solid NFL corners.
The loss of Nazeeh Johnson to a training-camp injury was a blow to the secondary’s depth, but Kahlef Hailassie’s preseason rise softened it a bit, especially with Sneed(knee) and Jones (broken hand) already banged up.
Biggest roster battle: Corner or safety?
Hailassie has played well enough to merit roster consideration. He separated himself in recent weeks from fellow undrafted rookie Ekow Boye-Doe, a former Kansas State standout.
Veteran DiCaprio Bootle is the part of the group that may at least stick around on the practice squad, but they’re unlikely to be included on the initial 53-man roster.
The rest: Kahlef Hailassie, DiCaprio Bootle, Ekow Boye-Doe, Lamar Jackson, Reese Taylor, Duron Lowe
I’d expect Kansas City to try to keep two and maybe all three from the Hailassie, Boye-Doe, Bootle group.
SAFETIES (5)
Justin Reid, Bryan Cook, Mike Edwards, Chamarri Conner, Deon Bush
Honestly, I was leaning Hailassie over Bush until seeing Edwards’ struggles in coverage Saturday against Cleveland.
With Cooner set to fill multiple roles, including nickelback, I think Bush’s veteran status and proven ability to contribute on special teams give him the edge in the 53-man roster construction.
Biggest roster battle: Corner or safety?
Does the corner room or safety room need the extra help? For now, I say the safeties, especially with the special-teams skills among the group.
The rest: Anthony Cook, Isaiah Norman
If Bush makes the roster, there’s not a whole lot of intrigue left at the position and it could be a position Veach scours the waiver wire for extra hard in making practice-squad decisions.
SPECIALISTS (3)
K Harrison Buttker, P Tommy Townsend, LS James Winchester
These three are among the NFL’s best at their positions and the Chiefs remain so confident in each player that they’ve stopped bringing in offseason competition for the specialists’ jobs.
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