Chiefs cut Junior Hemingway, get to 75 players

The Kansas City Chiefs have shrunk their roster to 75 players by making four roster moves, including two cuts. Both offensive lineman Tavon Rooks and wide receiver Junior Hemingway were released on Tuesday afternoon, while linebacker Justin March was placed on injured reserve with a torn meniscus. Quarterback Tyler Bray has been placed on the Non-Football Injury list.

The cut of Hemingway does not come as a shock, although most projected that he would get past the first round of cuts. Hemingway developed into a nice special teams player since being drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft, but never turned into a solid receiver. There was hope that Hemingway could eventually become a reliable depth receiver, but last year he showed bad hands and the inability to get open.

As for March, this ensures that the Chiefs keep him on the roster. Kansas City is loaded at linebacker with Derrick Johnson, Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, Josh Martin, Dezman Moses, Dee Ford, Josh Mauga, D.J. Alexander, Frank Zombo and Ramik Wilson. Of those 10, only nine are likely to make the 53-man roster, and with March coming back from a torn meniscus, perhaps it makes the most sense to give him, in essence, a redshirt season.

Bray going to the NFI also gives him an opportunity to continue to recover from the torn ACL he sustained while playing basketball in January. Bray has shown a big arm but not much else since coming to the Chiefs an an undrafted free-agent in 2013.