Few Chiefs players are facing the level of tension between being in or out as tight end Irv Smith Jr.
Coming into Saturday's preseason tilt against the visiting Detroit Lions, the Kansas City Chiefs largely can break up their 90-man offseason roster into gwo groups: there are players who are guaranteed to make it through active cuts unscathed and those players who know they're gong to miss the first cut who are hoping for a practice squad role somewhere in the league.
Then in the middle, there are a few players for whom things could honestly go either direction. Irv Smtih Jr. is firmly in that second group.
For Smith, the ability to make the Chiefs roster or not is both up to him and not on his shoulders, so the situation is sticky. But knowing he's at least partially in control made Saturday's second preseason game and the upcoming finale against the Chicago Bears on Thursday made this a very, very important for Smith (and others in a similar scenario).
In part, Smith knows it's out of his control. The Chiefs are going to carry at least three tight ends and those spots are already signed, sealed, and delivered. Travis Kelce is a household name and the primary outlet for Patrick Mahomes. Noah Gray is a seasoned backup in his contract year who knows the system inside and out. Jared Wiley is the new draft pick for whom exciting things are projected.
So in a sense, Smith's questions aren't even about him but whether or not it makes sense for the Chiefs to carry four tight ends at all. It's about positional value and roster structure. Does a 10th offensive lineman make more sense or a fourrth tight end? What about a seventh wideout or a fourth running back? It depends on the player as well as current injuries and early opponents and how the Chiefs want to attack them.
Bu the Chiefs signed Smith to a one-year deal this offseason for good reasons. Smith is an athletic tight end whose presence alongside the others give the Chiefs some exciting looks in multiple tight end sets. Smith has good hands and provides some security behind Kelce who will likely require more rest than before this season—not to mention Wiley as a rookie might not be ready for some things he's asked to do.
Unfortunately for Smith, the Chiefs' most recent preseason game really didn't afford him too many opportunities to show what he can do. On Saturday against the Lions, Smith had a handful of snaps in the first half when the starters and primary backups played, so at least he wasn't relegated completely to the second half. However, his best opportunities were as all of his (two) catches came in the third and fourth quarters.
Catching both of your targets against Detroit's backups is not going to enhance anyone's standing with the team, but Smith can only work with what he's given and at least he did that much. Still he has a few more practices and one more preseason game to go before Brett Veach must make his decisions. Smith can only hope there are real opportunities awaiting in the hopes of earning an even bigger chance.