Chiefs Chatter: Roster bubble brings more intrigue than normal to Kansas City
In 2020, final roster cuts are going to be as unpredictable as ever for the Chiefs.
Among the many traditions which have been lost over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic is the annual tradition of rampant speculation about the composition of an NFL team’s’ final 53-man roster heading into the regular season. It’s not that there has been no discussion whatsoever, but certainly the depth of analysis has been much shallower than most normal years.
Of course, it is not difficult to understand why that is true. The lack of open training camps across the country has decreased the amount of media coverage, and fan accessibility, to speculate on what players have had the best, or worst, performances. In addition, the lack of an NFL preseason in 2020 has decreased the national exposure for players and teams, so anyone not covering teams locally has essentially no first-hand access to information.
What does all of this mean for Kansas City? It means that who rounds out the bottom 8-10 spots on the roster is a major question mark. There are several positions at which Chiefs fans should be very interested in seeing what happens. Here is brief rundown of what to watch for as we approach Saturday.
The running back position may have settled itself when Damien Williams opted out of the season, but the presence of fourth year man Elijah McGuire on the current roster does present the possibility that general manager Brett Veach could try to trade someone on the depth chart, like Darrell Williams or second year man Darwin Thompson, to obtain draft capital.
Additionally, the Chiefs could target a cut from another team, like former number four overall pick Leonard Fournette, which would create movement on the running back roster. Likely, the Chiefs go with Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Darrel Williams, DeAndre Washington and Darwin Thompson here, but it’s a place to keep an eye on as the weekend approaches.
The wide receiver position is an open battle after the number four spot (Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Sammy Watkins and DeMarcus Robinson will make the team), so there are likely two spots for the taking here. The frontrunners almost have to be Byron Pringle and Marcus Kemp, due to their special teams contributions, but we should also look out for undrafted rookie free agent Kalija Lipscomb, Patrick Mahomes‘ best friend Gehrig Dieter, and 6’6″ Jody Forston to have the potential to make the squad, too.
The third tight end spot is likely a question mark, assuming that Travis Kelce and free agent acquisition Ricky Seals-Jones make the team. The battle for the last spot here is between veteran Deon Yelder and youngster Nick Keizer. The Chiefs utilize their third tight end often enough that this is a place to watch.
The offensive line may be as big of a question mark as anywhere on the team. Your likely starting line is even in question, with really only the tackle spots (Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher) set in stone. A likely interior of Martinas Rankin, Austin Reiter and Keleche Osemele likely all make the team. However, cutting Reiter could save the Chiefs over $3 million, and it’s not as if it’s automatic that he’ll beat out Nick Allegreti or Darryl Williams. The backup spots are completely up for grabs, too, with veteran Daniel Kilgore being recently added to the roster, and Andrew Wylie, Yasir Durant, and Mike Remmers also jockeying for position.
We’ve talked previously abut the interesting defensive end position, and who the Chiefs keep there, in a battle between Taco Charlton, Breeland Speaks, Tershawn Wharton, Mike Danna, Tanoh Kpassagnon, and Tim Ward for the remaining two (or maybe three) spots after Alex Okafor and Frank Clark. This is one of the more interesting places to me on the roster. Could the Chiefs try to trade former second round pick Breeland Speaks for a to-be-released cornerback, similar to the trade which brought Charvarius Ward to Kansas City three years ago?
We probably know what linebackers make the roster, but what are the Chiefs going to do in the secondary? Does the signing of Tedric Thompson or Adrian Colbert mean the end of Armani Watts‘ time with the team? And the cornerback position, with Bashaud Breeland missing the first four games, leaves a lot yet to be determined. Do the Chiefs sign a veteran to add depth? Do they go with youngsters like L’Jarius Sneed, Lavert Hill and Rashad Fenton as key depth after Ward and free agent signing Antonio Hamilton? It will be interesting to see what happens here.
It is difficult to recall a year when so much was unknown about the final roster just eight days before the season opener. It will be fascinating to see the Chiefs 53-man roster on Monday morning!
Chiefs Trivia
Each week’s column will feature a trivia question related to the Kansas City Chiefs. Challenge yourself by coming up with the correct response without looking it up! Enter for a chance to win a Chiefs prize via either Facebook or Twitter Direct/Private Messaging. Must retweet or share the column on your personal page, and provide the correct answer via PM/DM, to be eligible. Winner will be chosen at random on Saturday.
We were off last week from the column, so we’re starting fresh this week looking for new winners!
This week’s question trivia is: How many different players caught passes for the Chiefs during the the 2019 NFL season?
Reader Question
Each week, we’ll answer a question or two from readers about our team. These can be about any topic related to the Chiefs, send me a question via DM (@kthomps58).
This week’s question comes from Victor Griffin of Akron, Ohio. Victor asks: How will the NFL deal with inevitable positive COVID-19 tests during the course of the season?
Good question Victor, thank you!
I think that the approach we’ve seen with the NBA and MLB will be deployed in roughly the same format as it pertains to the NFL season. Players/coaches will be tested two or three times per week, a positive test will trigger a mandatory quarantine, and reentry to the team will require two positive tests or something similar.
I would be surprised, given the size of the roster and the practice squad flexibility, though, if the NFL ended up cancelling any games as a result of COVID outbreaks on teams. It’s obviously possible that teams have major outbreaks and are forced to forfeit. But I think that amount of testing and precautions NFL teams are taking will prevent it. It seems unlikely that 10+ players will be out at the same time for any team, to me.
I think the NFL will deal with it by utilizing their practice squads in their entirety, doing whatever it takes to keep teams on the field and playing. There is a lot of money on the line, and my belief is that the NFL will push to make sure they collect every dime.
Chiefs Fact of the Week
The Kansas City Chiefs have had 13 head coaches in the franchise’s 60-year history. With his eighth season with the team about to begin, Andy Reid is already the third-longest tenured head coach in team history.
Chiefs Record of the Week
Since the stat started being recorded, Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas holds the Chiefs’ record for most forced fumbles in a career, with 41. DT also holds the team record for most fumble recoveries, with 19.
Random Fact of the Week
The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.
Sports Quote of the Week
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
Oddball Sport of the Week
Club Swinging — an old sport which involves the competitor standing with a bowling pin shaped club in each hand then whirling or swinging the clubs very quickly around the body and head in a variety of patterns in a complicated routine.