Kansas City Chiefs players hurt most by lack of preseason games
The loss of NFL preseason games this year could make it a lot harder for these nine Kansas City Chiefs to earn a spot on the 53 man roster.
As the Kansas City Chiefs get ready to report for training camp there is definitely a sense that this year is going to be very different. Like much of the country, the ongoing situation caused by Covid-19 is forcing the NFL to do things differently this season. I’m certainly not here to get into a political debate about how the NFL is handling things (especially after my piece on the Chiefs name last week), but I do think it’s worth looking at which Chiefs could have their chances of making the 53-man roster impacted the most by the loss of all preseason games this year.
The NFL preseason is an acquired taste. It’s certainly not the most impressive football you will ever see. However, for fans like myself who are intrigued by roster battles, it’s a great chance to see how players fighting for those last few roster spots respond to real game situations.
Obviously it has been and always will be vitally important that players show the coaching staff their best in practice, but some players step up and others fade when the lights come on. Therefore, the lack of real game opportunities (even if it is the preseason) means some players will miss out on the chance to step up and show the staff they have what it takes.
The Chiefs are in a unique situation this year, not just because they are the reigning Super Bowl champions, but because so much of their roster from last season is intact. When you combine that with the fact that the NFL is working off a drastically reduced offseason program, you have a very difficult situation for some young players to unseat veterans on this team.
Were there a complete offseason with rookie mini camp, OTAs, a regular training camp, and four preseason games, the opportunities would be there for new faces to pick things up and prove to the Chiefs they are worth keeping around. Now most of those young players are trying to learn enough and show enough in practice to hopefully earn a spot on the now expanded practice squad.
Which players do I think will have their 53-man roster hopes dashed by this coronavirus-impaired situation? I thought about writing up some kind of ranking system, but at the end of the day, what does it matter what order they are in? If they don’t make the active roster, they don’t make the active roster.
As I went through all 90 players (which will soon be cut down to 80), there were nine players who stuck out to me as guys with a real chance to earn a spot in a normal preseason. Now they likely find themselves on the outside looking in.
Let’s start things off with a quarterback.