Report: Chiefs Considering Keeping Two Kickers

A report from the Kansas City Star’s Terez A. Paylor suggests the Chiefs may consider keeping both Ryan Succop and Cairo Santos through the 53-man deadline on Saturday. Here is what Paylor tweeted.

Succop and Santos have been in a heated battle all training camp in an attempt to earn the Chiefs starting kicker job. The threat of competition has clearly motivated Succop to add some strength to his leg which has been noticeable on kickoffs. Santos, however, still has the stronger leg and has the added benefit of being significantly cheaper agains the salary cap.

What the Chiefs may be doing here is noticing the need for kickers around the league and improving their leverage in a trade. Between now and Saturday there may be an assumption amongst team the Chiefs will release one of them in order to get down to the 53-man roster requirement.

But the Chiefs have some guys and some roster spots to be flexible with heading into Saturday. Kansas City has already place Sanders Commings on the IR and they’ll probably have to do the same with Joe Mays. Additionally, Donald Stephenson (four games) and Dwayne Bowe (one game) will miss the first game of the season due to suspensions. This makes four roster spots the Chiefs can play with at the back end of their roster if they feel like there is no one else more deserving.

Keeping both Succop and Santos gives the Chiefs the leverage to trade one of them after the Saturday deadline. Philadelphia, Chicago, and Miami are examples of two teams who could use an upgrade at kicker and may be willing to part with a late draft pick to secure Succop or Santos.

Whether or not this plan works out depends on the player who gets cut in Succop/Santos’ stead. Guys like Malcolm Bronson, Demarcus Van Dyke, and Kyle Williams could be guys who lose a roster spot because the Chiefs choose to keep two kickers. There is definitely a risk to what the Chiefs may be doing but the potential reward of getting an extra draft pick for a kicker.