A work in progress
It’s important to note that the version of the 53-man roster announced yesterday by the Chiefs was an informal one, just something to appease the gods of the NFL in order to comply with a deadline. Consider it like cleaning your room by shoving everything in the closet or under the bed. It was hardly a finished product.
This is important to remember, because it’s possible to act a bit concerned about only five wide receivers making the roster or six linebackers being included in the mix. Those ratios seem off and they are intended to be. Further moves are coming which will allow the Chiefs to further shift things around.
Take Marcus Kemp for instance. He looked like he was a good bet to be WR5 alongside Daurice Fountain with a rock solid preseason performance that showed good hands and great awareness to go alongside his known special teams prowess. The fact that the Chiefs cut him felt weird, except then Matt Derrick came out with this nugget.
The release of WR Marcus Kemp is a procedural move, a source tells me. As a vested veteran, WR Kemp becomes a free agent and doesn't go through waivers. The club can re-sign him after placing an injured player on IR, likely an offensive lineman.
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) August 31, 2021
Just like that, we find out Kemp is back which alleviates some concerns. Austin Blythe seems a likely candidate to hit injured reserve given that Derrick hints toward it in his post and he’s already missed recent practices after undergoing a sports hernia surgery.
Beyond that, the Chiefs and every other NFL team will have to wait 24 hours from the roster cut deadline to see who they won on the waiver wire—if anyone. If that’s the case, then the roster will shift even more based upon the position they fill with the claim.
The Chiefs don’t have to worry about a “final” 53-man roster until September 12, which means there’s a lot of runway for player movement and roster decisions between now and then. That’s not to say that Veach is likely to make major moves. The roster that suits up to play the Cleveland Browns is likely going to resemble this one at a majority of positions. But Veach is not done tinkering, so let’s wait a few more days before labeling things concerns or not.