KC Chiefs: The six toughest roster cutdown decisions

Tough Decisions On The Interior Offensive Line

The Kansas City Chiefs are absolutely loaded with depth on the interior offensive line. That’s great, but it also makes cutting down to 53 players more difficult. The two biggest questions are will the Chiefs keep nine or ten offensive linemen and how many offensive linemen may end up on the PUP list or IR to start the season?

In addition to the starting five linemen, I believe Mike Remmers and Andrew Wylie are safe because of their versatility and ability to play tackle where K.C. is thinner. So that leaves either two or three spots for interior line depth with Nick Allegretti, Austin Blythe, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, and Kyle Long all as options.

Will Kyle Long start the year on the PUP list? If so, that buys K.C. a little time to decide what to do with him. Could LDT and/or Austin Blythe go on IR to start the year? If so, they still have to make the initial 53 man roster if they want to be designated to return. If both of those guys end up on IR to start the year and Long is on the PUP list, then Allegretti becomes a lock for the roster and they may also keep someone like Yasir Durant on the 53-man roster until one of those other guys is ready to get back on the field.

Eventually, I think LDT could end up being the odd man out when Long is ready to play. As good of story as he has, he struggled a bit his last year starting before taking a year off for COVID and now has no real future with the team with Joe Thuney and Trey Smith at guard. A guy like Allegretti who is younger, can play center, and is on a cheap contract for two more seasons is probably a more appealing option.

Of all the positions on the roster, the injury component here makes me the least confident on how the roster will look at this position for week one.

Next up, let’s move to the defensive side of the ball.