KC Chiefs: Roderick Johnson among five players released

The Kansas City Chiefs began paring down the roster from their current allotment of 80 players to the ultimate goal of 53 with the release of five players on Saturday. The list includes veteran offensive tackle Roderick Johnson.

The NFL’s deadline for active rosters is coming up on Tuesday, so teams around the league will be releasing hundreds of players over the next few days—including the Chiefs—as teams scramble to not only make the final decisions on their own players but scour the league for potential deals to be had as other teams cut players as well.

For now, the Chiefs have arrived at some fairly easy decisions when it comes to the on-field product with the release of five players that brings them down to 75 on the active roster. The five players released by the Chiefs on Saturday: offensive tackle Roderick Johnson, quarterback Dustin Crum, linebacker Mike Rose, running back Tayon Fleet-Davis, and wide receiver Aaron Parker.

The Kansas City Chiefs released five players on Saturday including offensive tackle Roderick Johnson.

Johnson is the most intriguing player here, mostly because he was earning reps with the first-team unit early in training camp. Johnson was given playing time next to Joe Thuney up front while the team was waiting for starting tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to end his holdout. At the time, it looked as if the coaching staff appreciated Johnson more than other talents fighting for a role on the team with early playing time.

Once things really got moving and Brown reported back to the team, however, Johnson found himself struggling in games while Geron Christian really came on strong as a swing tackle option who was signed this offseason by the Chiefs. The team also has fifth-round rookie Darian Kinnard to go behind Andrew Wylie on the right side and Lucas Niang waiting in the wings on the Physically Unable to Play list.

Crum was always a camp quarterback for the Chiefs who were clearly QB4 behind Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne, and Shane Buechele. Rose was a nice linebacker signing, but Jack Cochrane remains on the team fighting for a role with Darius Harris and that last linebacking spot. Fleet-Davis and Parker could be practice squad candidates for skill positions if other teams claim some of the other competitors who are left and will be released as well.