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KC Chiefs with real chance to decide their fates vs Packers

By Lucas Strozinsky

Jul 27, 2022; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Corey Coleman (19) catches a pass as linebacker Jermaine Carter (53) defends during training camp at Missouri Western University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 27, 2022; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Corey Coleman (19) catches a pass as linebacker Jermaine Carter (53) defends during training camp at Missouri Western University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jermaine Carter (53) Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jermaine Carter (53) Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /

LB Jermaine Carter

Jermaine Carter was brought into Kansas City this past March to help replace the likes of Anthony Hitchens and Ben Niemann. He was viewed as the third linebacker, behind Nick Bolton and Willie Gay, until Leo Chenal was drafted.

Today, Carter is battling Darius Harris for the backup MIKE LB role behind Nick Bolton (I.e. wearing the green dot on the helmet and communicating with DC Steve Spagnuolo on the field). If he loses that battle with an underwhelming performance against Green Bay, I have a very difficult time projecting him to make the final roster.

Looking at the linebacker group as a whole, Nick Bolton, Willie Gay, and Leo Chenal are 100% locks to make the final roster. One of Darius Harris and Jermaine Carter will make the team and I believe Elijah Lee will make the team due to his special teams ability. That would leave the Chiefs at five linebackers, and with how common nickel defense is in today’s NFL, I don’t project that the team will carry a sixth linebacker in the regular season.

One potential issue of waiving Jermaine Carter is that the Chiefs would see no cap savings if they cut, per Over The Cap. If Carter is released, that would signal that the competition between Carter and Darius Harris wasn’t really that close at the end.

Unless there is an injury between now and next Tuesday, I don’t believe that both Jermaine Carter and Darius Harris will survive final cuts and make the final roster for Week 1 of the regular season. If Jermaine Carter has an off night on Thursday and loses out to Harris, then he’ll likely be searching for a new team before the start of the regular season.

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