Kansas City Chiefs fans, the regular season is now upon us! We have survived the long offseason months, training camp, and preseason games and this Sunday when the Chiefs take the field against the Houston Texans we will finally get to see a game that counts. This past weekend we learned just which players will be taking the field for KC this season as the Chiefs finalized their 53-man roster.
While it can be fun to debate the final roster moves (Eric Kush gone, Frankie Hammond making it over Fred Williams, Mike Catapano getting cut, getting a draft pick from Seattle for a third string safety, claiming new players off waivers, etc.) the bottom line is you either trust Chiefs general manager John Dorsey or you don’t. While I didn’t like all the moves he made over the weekend (especially Catapano) I am still a strong advocate for the job Dorsey has done overhauling the KC roster.
John Dorsey was hired as the Chiefs’ general manager on Jan. 13, 2013. In the two years and eight months that have passed since his hiring he has completely remodeled the franchise. Of the 67 players that were on Kansas City’s roster during their disastrous 2-14 season in 2012 only ten players remain on the current 53-man roster. Those players are: Jamaal Charles, Jeff Allen, Donald Stephenson, Dontari Poe, Allen Bailey, Tamba Hali, Justin Houston, Derrick Johnson, Eric Berry, and Dustin Colquitt.
That is obviously a talented nucleus of players, but as evidence of their 2-14 record in 2012 it wasn’t enough talent to win games. Obviously the coaching staff lead by Andy Reid has had a huge hand in the team’s turnaround. The upgrade from Romeo Crennel to Andy Reid has been about as sizable as one will ever see. Still, that 2-14 team was woefully short on quality NFL players.
As the third offseason of the Dorsey/Reid era comes to a close the Chiefs now appear to have a deeper roster than any time in recent memory. To remind you all just how far we have come I decided that this week before the first game it would be good to look back at that 2012 roster that Dorsey inherited and compare it to the one he has now built. That way we can step back and truly appreciate the plan that Dorsey has put in place.
Naturally, we need to start with the quarterbacks…..
Next: Quarterbacks