Will the Kansas City Chiefs be forced to offload Carlos Hyde?

The Kansas City Chiefs have a bottleneck at the running back position. What are their options with veteran Carlos Hyde?

At the beginning of the offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs were faced with an excess of issues regarding depth at certain positions. Now, however, most of those positions are deep enough that the Chiefs are having trouble figuring out how to keep all the guys they like. This has caused a chain reaction that might put one of our solid veteran signings on the roster bubble before he’s even played a snap for the team.

Carlos Hyde might be on the outside looking in as far as the final roster goes. Hyde was signed early in the offseason as veteran depth behind Damien Williams at the running back position. Hyde’s arrival solidified a thin position for the team. The 2019 Draft would solidify it even further.

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In the Draft and its aftermath, the Chiefs came away with two more potential contributors at the running back position. One, James “Boobie” Williams, was cut in the summer. The other, however, has fans reminiscing about Jamaal Charles comparisons as he provides both a running and receiving threat out of the backfield. In fact, Darwin Thompson even wears Charles’ famous number 25.

For fans, this is a good problem to have. For a veteran trying to make the roster, the bad news might have just gotten worse. Along with the offensive depth provided by the draft and free agency, the Chiefs also gained a lot of depth on defense—particularly at corner. Formerly coveted free agent Bashaud Breeland, rookie draft pick Rashad Fenton, undrafted free agent Mark Fields and others have given the Chiefs a decent amount of depth. These players add to a cornerback room that returned Kendall Fuller, Charvarious Ward, and Tremon Smith, who may soon add to Hyde’s troubles.

The excess of cornerback depth has caused Andy Reid to experiment with Tremon Smith at running back. Smith was an outstanding returner in 2019, so we know he has moves. He caught a lot of interceptions in college, so he just might have hands. He also runs the 40-yard dash somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.3 seconds and was an all-state quarterback in high school. All of these things bode well for his hopes at running back, but poorly for Hyde’s hopes of making the roster.

Hyde has always been a solid running back, but has never been overly special in the receiving game, a place where Reid loves to utilize backs. Couple this with the fact that having Smith on the offense allows the Chiefs to effectively stash an extra defensive back on the roster emergencies, and Smith’s chances of making the roster start to look pretty good. The Chiefs, however, will likely carry no more than four backs on the roster. If Smith makes the cut, this leaves Carlos Hyde competing with power back Darrell Williams for a roster spot (if we assume that Darwin Thompson and Damien Williams are locks to make the roster).

All of this leaves the Chiefs with a few options. The team could decide to keep Hyde around for veteran presence and stash Darrell Williams on the Practice Squad. This leaves Williams open to be signed by another team, however, and might not be a chance the Chiefs want to take after Williams flashed significant ability in 2018.

Secondly, the Chiefs could simply cut Hyde, but they’d be leaving themselves with largely untested talent at running back, as well as giving up a talented player for nothing.

The third and final scenario is perhaps the most beneficial. With two high-profile running backs (Melvin Gordon and Ezekiel Elliott) holding out from training camp while seeking new contracts, their teams (Chargers and Cowboys) might look to trade for a back to reduce Gordon or Elliott’s leverage. Combine this with the rash of injuries that usually hit the running back position during camp and preseason, and the Chiefs might see a significant market develop for an experienced back like Hyde.

Throughout camp, the Chiefs have been attempting to involve Hyde in the passing game. This not only improves his versatility as a player, but also showcases to anyone who might be watching that Hyde could be a savvy veteran fill-in for a needy squad.

Next. 10 Takeaways from Chiefs Training Camp. dark

As stated earlier, having too many capable running backs is a problem the Chiefs are glad to face. The issue started as a question of who to get, but now is a question of who to cut.

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