The Kansas City Chiefs have cut three more players to get themselves to the 75-man limit ahead of today’s 3 p.m. deadline.
Tackle Ryan McKee and cornerbacks Kevin Rutland and Damond Smith were waived by the Chiefs this morning, giving the Chiefs 75 men on their roster heading into the final preseason game of the year on Thursday. All teams must be down to 53 men by 3 p.m. Saturday.
McKee’s exclusion from the team means the competition to fill out the remainder of the Chiefs offensive line depth falls to J’Marcus Webb, Ryan Harris, Ricky Henry Eric Kush, Jeffrey Linkenbach, Laurent Duvernday-Tardif and Ben Gottschalk. Donald Stephenson will be suspended for the season’s first four games so that opens up an extra spot to be won on the offensive line. One would have to think Webb, Harris, Linkenbach, Kush, Henry and Duverday-Tardif will receive very long looks Thursday night.
Cornerback is also beginning to filter out. Besides Marcus Cooper, Ron Parker, Sean Smith, Chris Owens, and Phillip Gaines, it would appear there could be one spot remaining for one of DeMarcus Van Dyke or Justin Rogers. Kansas City also has six safeties still left on the roster.
How the Chiefs choose to handle the injury to Joe Mays will also be important. Andy Reid expects him to miss a significant amount of time so there is a chance he is placed on the injured reserve. That would open up another spot on the roster for Saturday’s deadline.