KC Chiefs establish 53-man roster after making final cuts
By Matt Conner
The dust has settled. The frenzied activity is done. The front office and coaching staff for the K.C. Chiefs can breathe easy for a spell before gearing up for their season opening game against the Cleveland Browns on September 12.
The Chiefs have made their official roster cuts, and while there are still plenty of potential moves to come with waiver claims, potential trades, and further signings, at least the significant work of shrinking down a roster from 90 at the beginning of August to 53 at present is finished.
The Chiefs were forced to say goodbye to a lot of talented players, rookies and veterans included, but the core of 53 players that remain ready to compete in ’21 is one father league’s best rosters. Here’s our first look with notes included at the team’s active roster out of the preseason.
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne
There’s nothing in the way of any surprises here as the Chiefs move forward into the 2021 season with not only the set-up expected of only two quarterbacks on the active roster but it’s also the same two quarterbacks everyone would have expected even a year or more ago.
Patrick Mahomes has a big season ahead of him as he chases historic greatness at such a young age. He’s favored to win his second MVP trophy and there’s a good chance he ends up heading to his third Super Bowl in only four seasons as a starter. From early career touchdown marks to establishing a team dynasty, this could be a very memorable year for Mahomes.
As for Henne, he’s now in the final season on his contract and could be the final older veteran quarterback kept behind Mahomes for the sake of any security. From here on out, the Chiefs might decide to bank on a developmental quarterback behind Mahomes to groom some security and/or develop tradable draft assets in the future (which is what the Packers and Patriots have done for years). No matter what happens, it will be a memorable year.