Tremon Smith out, Byron Pringle in for Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs announced a swap of players on the roster as they promoted Byron Pringle from the practice squad and released Tremon Smith.

The Tremon Smith experiment is over, at least for the moment, as the Kansas City Chiefs have released the cornerback and kick returner, per reporter Aaron Wilson, to make room on the roster for wide receiver Byron Pringle as the team prepares to face the Oakland Raiders on the road in Week 2.

The move feels a bit confusing, like a carousel of meaningless transactions, given that the Chiefs just released Pringle a few days ago to make room for the return of veteran wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas from a one-game suspension to start the year. Basically, if the Chiefs wanted to ultimately release Smith and keep Pringle, why not just get rid of Smith when bringing DAT back onto the roster? What else changed in that time or did the Chiefs change their minds?

If the Chiefs are this mixed about whether or not to keep Smith or Pringle, then it shows that neither player should feel too secure in their current spot. A poor showing by Pringle could make him immediately available again on the waiver wire, and Smith should keep his phone on him given how much the Chiefs obviously still like him—even as his role on the team is not quite clear given his inability to earn reps in the secondary and the presence of so many other return options for Dave Toub, the Chief special teams coach.

Smith was the Chiefs sixth round choice in the 2018 NFL Draft, while Pringle joined the team as an undrafted free agent in that same year.