Five Chiefs players barely hanging onto a roster spot
By Jacob Milham
With more roster cuts due this week and next, some members of the Kansas City Chiefs roster are barely hanging onto their spots.
The Kansas City Chiefs sent their fans home happy, after a 24-14 victory over the Washington Commanders on Aug. 20, 2022. From top to bottom, fans left feeling good about the new-look Chiefs, from the rookies to the veterans. Several Chiefs players were not active for Kansas City on Saturday, including defensive tackle Chris Jones, defensive end Carlos Dunlap, and tight end Blake Bell.
As for the offense and defense, they did not skip a beat.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes continued his stellar preseason performance, elevating the receiving corps without wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman. The offensive line looked more cohesive than it did during the previous matchup against the Chicago Bears.
The defense continued to look improved, especially considering the number of defensive rookies. Defensive end George Karlaftis notched another sack, and cornerback Jaylen Watson had several impressive plays. The kids are looking just fine for Kansas City, while linebacker Nick Bolton and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed have not missed a beat.
A lot of sunshine and rainbows for the Chiefs, right? Well, you can’t have a rainbow without some rain. On Saturday, some players were having a pretty rainy day on the field. That is hardly a good impression, especially with more impending roster cuts. On Tuesday, Aug. 23, NFL teams must reduce their 85-man rosters to an 80-man roster. Then, just a week later on Aug. 30, that 80-man roster is reduced to the conclusive 53-man roster.
Kansas City cut their roster down to 82 players on Monday, ahead of the deadline. The Chiefs released defensive backs Brandon Dandridge and Nasir Greer, and also cut offensive lineman David Steinmetz. None of the three moves is shocking, although Dandridge and Greer have a shot at Kansas City’s practice squad. But, this puts more pressure on some of Kansas City’s more notable or established players now.
Which players are on the roster bubble, after poor or lackluster performances against the Commanders?