The biggest surprises from the Kansas City Chiefs 53-man roster

Chiefs roll with three running backs—for now

Despite the injuries experienced at the running back position in 2019, the Kansas City Chiefs still chose to finalize their initial 53-man roster with only three rushers on the team (four if you count Anthony Sherman, which we’re not because he does not really run with the football).

In order to trim the room to three, the Chiefs cut Elijah McGuire, who spent 2019 on the practice squad and is likely a strong candidate to spend 2020 there, too. No one really thought he’d make the roster but it does seem like Kansas city values his skill set enough to keep him around in case of emergency.

What was unexpected by most was that the Chiefs also cut veteran running back DeAndre Washington. He joined the team as a free agent this offseason after being waived by the Las Vegas Raiders. Before Damien Williams opted out of the season, most expected Washington and 2019 sixth round pick Darwin Thompson to compete for the fourth running back spot. Once Williams officially opted out, it seemed inevitable that the former fifth round pick would make the team. He did not.

Now the Chiefs enter Week One of the season with only three running backs on the active roster. Maybe it stays that way, but we should not be surprised if Kansas City chooses to pick up an available veteran rusher—someone like Adrian Peterson or Lamar Miller would make some sense for the team on a low cost, one-year deal.