How will the Chiefs make room for Bashaud Breeland?

LB Darius Harris

Often heralded but unable to crack the roster until Sneed went on injured reserve, the undrafted Darius Harris is just depth for the Chiefs. The team entered 2020 with just five linebackers on the 53-man roster, and they appear comfortable playing that way, too. He has some promise, but Harris could be headed back to the practice squad, where he spent the first three weeks of this season.

Demone Harris

Another player who has yet to be active in the first quarter of the 2020 season, Demone Harris is the only player on this list who has played meaningful downs for the Chiefs already. Harris gave Kansas City valuable reps after signing in the middle of 2019, and while he has provided good insurance for the Chiefs in case Alex Okafor got hurt (he did) or Taco Charlton didn’t work out (he has).

It’s worth pointing out that the team was willing to cut 2018 second-round pick Breeland Speaks in favor of Harris. Okafor will return from his injury soon, and the team has plenty of available options at this position. We would be a little surprised if Demone Harris was relegated to the practice squad in this case, but not a lot.

Braxton Hoyett

After the Chiefs lost Khalen Saunders to a dislocated elbow in Week 1, Hoyett got the call. The team was rail-thin on the defensive interior without the services of Saunders or cult hero Mike Pennel, who served a two-game suspension to begin the 2020 season.

Now that Pennel is back in the rotation, the Chiefs are comfortable using Chris Jones (who should return Sunday against the Raiders), Derrick Nnadi, Pennel, and Tershawn Wharton up front. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo also likes to bump his ends inside on passing downs.

While the Chiefs have rolled with five defensive tackles before (they began the 2019 season that way), Hoyett appears to be headed back to the practice squad. If not now, it will be when Saunders returns, and it won’t even be up for question.

Final answer:

The team has three players who are almost guaranteed a spot on the roster when they return in the next few weeks: Breeland, Saunders, and Rankin. Of the five players listed above, the most likely to be gone when it’s all said and done is Hoyett, because of the depth at his position. Saunders’ return is still unclear, but it looks like Hoyett will be the odd man out this week.

Our next guess is Seals-Jones. I think both Harris (LB) and Harris (DE) are safe, and Durant provides more necessary depth than Seals-Jones at this juncture. A fourth tight end is strictly a luxury on this roster, and barring injury, the team hasn’t given one indication that Seals-Jones will offer anything to the lineup.