Stay tuned here for a full rundown of the Chiefs roster cuts before the 53-man roster is due.
After months and months of roster construction—from the first invitations for futures contracts through free agency and the draft up until rookie tryouts shortly before a new season—the Kansas City Chiefs, like every other NFL franchise, are now ready to pare down the active roster.
The NFL mandates that every NFL team cut enough players to get below the 53-man threshold for the active roster entering a new regular season by Tuesday, August 27. Given that most teams are stacked at 90 right now, the full allotment for each team in the offseason, which means a slew of players will hit the waiver wire and free agency at the same time.
For the sake of review, a player without four accrued seasons of service in the NFL will be subject to waivers, and the league will use the worst-to-first standings of last year to determine which team gets first crack at each player. That means the Carolina Panthers should stand to improve their team by poaching from the league's richest as first in the waiver order.
As for the Chiefs, roster cuts are going to be especially difficult in a few areas. Most notably, the team will face tough decisions at wide receiver. Meanwhile, teams in need of defensive backs are likely sitting and waiting to see what Chiefs general manager Brett Veach will do with such a wealth of talent available to him.
Plenty of roster cuts have already taken place, but we've got you covered here with all of the updates as they happen. Make sure to check back often or bookmark this page to keep up with the Chiefs' roster cuts and various moves made to shape the final roster.
Complete list of Chiefs roster cuts
Player | Position | Date |
|---|---|---|
D.J. Miller | DB | 8/27 |
Cole Christiansen | LB | 8/27 |
Truman Jones | DL | 8/27 |
Tyree Gillespie | S | 8/27 |
Kamal Hadden | DB | 8/27 |
Curtis Jacobs | LB | 8/27 |
Fabien Lovett | DL | 8/27 |
Matt Dickerson | DL | 8/27 |
Chris Oladokun | QB | 8/27 |
Keaontay Ingram | RB | 8/27 |
Emani Bailey | RB | 8/27 |
Chu Godrick | OT | 8/27 |
Montrell Washington | WR | 8/27 |
Cornell Powell | WR | 8/27 |
Lucas Niang | OL | 8/27 |
Baylor Cupp | TE | 8/27 |
Deon Bush | S | 8/27 |
Keith Taylor | CB | 8/27 |
Nikko Remigio | WR | 8/27 |
Deneric Prince | RB | 8/27 |
Swayze Bozeman | LB | 8/27 |
Louis Rees-Zammit | KR/RB | 8/27 |
Irv Smith | TE | 8/27 |
Justyn Ross | WR | 8/27 |
Kadarius Toney | WR | 8/27 |
Miles Battle | CB | 8/26 |
Randen Plattner | LS | 8/26 |
Ekow Boye-Doe | DB | 8/26 |
Nick Torres | OT | 8/26 |
Geor'Quarius Spivey | TE | 8/26 |
Alex Gubner | DT | 8/26 |
Owen Carney | DE | 8/26 |
Phillip Brooks | WR | 8/26 |
Griffin McDowell | OL | 8/26 |
Kelvin Joseph | CB | 8/26 |
Kyle Sheets | WR | 8/26 |
Ian Book | QB | 8/26 |
Jaaron Hayek | WR | 8/21 |
Randen Plattner | LS | 8/19 |
McKade Mettaur | OL | 8/19 |
Lucas Niang let go (8/27)
A minor surprise at the deadline from the Chiefs comes with the decision to stick with C.J. Hanson or Ethan Driskelll over former third-round pick Lucas Niang, a vet who was entering his contract season with K.C. Driskell had a great summer as a rookie free agent while Hanson was the team's final draft pick this spring. In the end, the Chiefs held onto as much cost control as possible.
Nikko Remigio will hit waivers (August 27)
While it's not a big surprise to see Nikko Remigio fail to make the active roster in such a competitive scenario, it is notable that Dave Toub did not get his man after all. In years past, it's been clear that Toub has real control over a roster spot or three based on his preferences for special teams units. This year, despite saying he's "pounding the table" for Remigio, the Chiefs allowed Remigio to hit waivers.
LRZ is not quite ready (August 27)
Everyone was rooting their hardest for Louis Rees-Zammit, and he certainly gave it everything he could, but at this point, the rugby star simply wasn't ready to officially switch sports. The good news is that he's likely going to slip through waivers and that means a potential return to K.C.'s own practice squad (for which there's a special 17th slot granted for international players).
Kadarius Toney's reign of terror is over (August 27)
Dianna Russini notes that the Chiefs tried their best to make a trade happen, but ultimately the Chiefs front office have decided to wash their hands of the Kadarius Toney experiment. Toney is subject to waivers since he still has another full season on his original rookie deal.
Justyn Ross can't make it two in a row (August 27)
After another strong preseason, it looked like Justyn Ross might be able to find his way back to the Chiefs' active roster for the second year in a row. However, shades of regular-season frustration might have clouded the front office's judgment this time around. Despite some very nice flashes in training camp and preseason games, the Chiefs are going to let other teams potentially claim him on the waiver wire.
Ian Book given the boot (August 26)
The Chiefs started their roster cuts week with a bit of addition and subtraction by bringing on veteran wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster and making room on the roster for him by cutting quarterback Ian Book. The latter was among the easiest cuts to predict knowing that he was clearly QB4 for the Chiefs, a team that never carries more than two on the active roster. WR Kyle Sheets was also cut early on Monday along with CB Kelvin Joseph.
Jaaron Hayek waived (August 21)
The Chiefs liked what they saw in the Villanova product after a tryout at rookie minicamp, but he was ultimately crowded out of the picture and waived with one week remaining in the preseason with an injury designation. When unclaimed, the Chiefs reached an injury settlement with him and made him a free agent.
Randen Plattner released (August 19)
The Chiefs grabbed Plattner, a rookie free agent out of Kansas State, to help hold down the fort when long snapper James Winchester went down with a shoulder injury. However, once the preseason action was officially over, the Chiefs waived Plattner knowing Winchester's injury wasn't going to carry over into the regular season. Plattner should keep his head up, however, since he earned looks from both the Chiefs and Ravens this summer. When the best teams keep you in their sights in case of emergency, it's only a matter of time until he finds a more permanent role somewhere.
McKade Mettauer waived (August 19)
The Chiefs' first preseason game of the year featured a significant injury for offensive lineman McKade Mettauer as he suffered an MCL tear against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chiefs waived him with an injury designation but he went unclaimed. If he returns, he could be stashed on injured reserve for the year.