Chiefs biggest roster surprise is only the start of some curious calls

The Kansas City Chiefs have officially locked in the group of players they are hoping will help return to the playoffs after missing out for the first time in a decade last season.

The Chiefs finalized their 53-man roster yesterday, and some of the names it included (or did not include) stood out as noteworthy. A running back who seemed like a lock to make the roster was a surprise cut, while a receiver who stood out in the final preseason game couldn’t play his way onto the team. And a unit that has underperformed for years got the luxury of having two go-to guys make the squad, but is that really something the Chiefs can afford right now?

This is what stood out to me at the NFL's roster cut deadline.

Emari Demercad-no

Cutting Emari Demercado was the most surprising roster decision Kansas City made, in my opinion. I expected the Chiefs to carry four running backs, and I thought they’d keep Demercado because he offered something Emmett Johnson and Brashard Smith couldn’t—league experience and pass blocking.

It seemed like Demercado would be Kansas City’s best option as a third-down back, given that pass blocking isn’t something that Johnson and Smith have worked on so far. I thought the Chiefs would value his reps going up against fully fledged NFL defenses more than they clearly did.

I also thought we saw enough from Demercado in the preseason games to show that he could be a solid contributor actually running the ball, too. His average wasn’t amazing (3.9 yards per attempt on 15 carries), but he had a couple of important runs in long-yardage situations against the Seattle Seahawks that helped move the sticks. I thought that was enough to keep him around.

Demercado didn’t blow me away, but I thought he looked better than Isiah Pacheco, Elijah Mitchell, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire did last year, and they were all on the roster at some point.

To me, the decision says two things about Kansas City’s running back room, and both are actually good things. First, it’s an indicator that they clearly value Johnson and Smith and think those two offer more than what Demercado can bring to the table. That’s a promising sign for two young players who both impressed this offseason in their own right.

And second, we might see Walker play a larger role than first expected. Walker only played 47 percent of the offensive snaps for the Seahawks last year, but maybe the Chiefs plan to use him more as a three-down back, with Johnson and Smith stepping in when needed. The Chiefs are paying Walker like a bell-cow RB, so maybe they’ll use him as one.

Armstrong eclipsed

Man, I would have liked to see Andrew Armstrong make the team.

Based on what we saw last season, I think the Chiefs need as much help as they can get at the skill positions on offense, and I think Armstrong brought something to the table for a shallow wide receiver room.

At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Armstrong would be the tallest and biggest target the Chiefs have at wide receiver, bringing some size that could maybe help him become a target on contested 50-50 balls.

Against the Seahawks, we saw him have a bad drop in the open field when he turned his head too early, but he also had a great diving catch at full stretch, a neat sliding grab along the sideline, and a tough catch over the middle while knowing a big hit was coming.

It’s not a great shock that Armstrong didn’t make the team, and there’s a decent chance the Chiefs are able to get him back on the practice squad, too, which would be a win. But I would have liked to see Kansas City take a chance on him.

I would take Armstrong over Jared Wiley or Nikko Remigio at this stage, two players who had a combined one target and one reception last year—the same number of catches that Patrick Mahomes had.

Wiley suffered a torn ACL in 2024 but was rarely used on offense last year, while Remigio was a below-average returner who only made his first catch of the season in Week 17. I think Armstrong is more of a potential weapon on offense than either of those guys. I’d also argue that Wiley and Remigio are more replaceable than Armstrong and were just as likely to make it through to the practice squad as well.

I don’t think cutting Armstrong is some huge blunder, but it isn’t the decision I would have made.

The power of Dave Toub

It’s no secret that special teams coordinator Dave Toub has his fair share of influence on the roster, and we know Toub has “his guys” that he turns to. But seeing not one but two of them, Kevin Knowles and Remigio, make the roster raised an eyebrow for me.

I just don’t think Kansas City is a complete enough team to dedicate two roster spots to players who are almost solely used on special teams. Given how the Chiefs performed on offense last year and the question marks on defense, it seems like a luxury the team can’t afford right now.

Remigio became Kansas City’s full-time primary returner last year, but the numbers he dished up were unspectacular. He ranked below the league average in yards per return for both punts (7.6 yards) and kickoffs (25.6 yards), with the much-maligned Skyy Moore putting up better numbers than he did. He had more muffed punts (two) last year than Moore had (one) as well.

We aren’t talking about Dante Hall returning kicks here, and the fact that Smith was able to bust off a 57-yard kickoff return against the Seahawks showed that the Chiefs already have a similar, if not better, returner on their roster anyway.

Knowles has been fine, and we saw him do a good job last year on special teams, but I’m not convinced he is that good, and I don’t think what he offers is irreplaceable either.

Considering Kansas City hasn’t generated a touchdown on special teams since 2020, the second-longest drought in the NFL, I wouldn’t have thought that both of those guys had to come back when the Chiefs needed reinforcements elsewhere.

Good on Benson

I want to make sure Kahlil Benson gets his props. He deserves a big congratulations and a lot of credit for making the roster as an undrafted free agent. That’s a big deal.

It’s been a wild preseason for Benson, who won a national championship with the Indiana Hoosiers last year. He was one of the most-hyped players this preseason, and at one point, it seemed like the Chiefs had picked up the steal of the offseason by signing him as a UDFA. He was part of the starting O-line for some of the preseason, and there was even a thought that he might replace Jaylon Moore as the starting right tackle.

The jets have cooled since then, and he’s had some learning moments in the preseason games, too, but it’s clear that the Chiefs at least have an interesting prospect with potential on their hands. Maybe he’ll end up starting for the Chiefs one day, or maybe he won’t. Esa Pole is another UDFA who was the next big thing at tackle for KC until suddenly he wasn’t, and he was cut from the 53-man roster yesterday.

Maybe that same storyline will play out for Benson; maybe it won’t. But no matter what happens in his career, playing your way onto an NFL roster after going undrafted is a huge accomplishment. Well done to him.

Reunions on the cards?

Speaking of the offensive line, could the Chiefs be set for a reunion with two familiar faces?

Pole started four games for the Chiefs last season but didn’t make the Chiefs' 53-man roster this year. Wayna Morris, whom Kansas City traded to Atlanta earlier this offseason, was cut by the Falcons too. I wouldn’t be surprised, and I wouldn’t hate it either if both those guys returned to Kansas City on the practice squad.

The Chiefs have clearly expressed how they feel about them considering they cut one and traded the other, and they just traded for Diego Pounds and Josh Ezeudu, who are obviously the preferred O-line reinforcements.

But Pole and Morris are two players that KC has turned to in moments of need in the past. That familiarity could prove useful, considering how top-heavy the Chiefs are along the o-line and the inexperience among some of the other depth pieces, too.

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