The Kansas City Chiefs announced their initial roster moves on Tuesday to get down to 53 players. Most of the 53 players were largely expected. However, there was one who seemed primed to make the cut that wound up not making it in the end. That would be veteran tight end Robert Tonyan.
The Chiefs watched a strong performance from Tonyan in both training camp and preseason games. Overall, multiple tight end sets have become even more valuable for the Kansas City offense in recent years. With Travis Kelce set to turn 36 years old this upcoming October, that tight end depth has grown even more critical. Yet, Tonyan was not initially rewarded with a stay on the Chiefs' roster.
Perhaps Tonyan still showed enough to be brought back by the Chiefs before the regular season opener officially comes. But in the end, Tonyan's release was easily one of the most surprising roster reveals by Kansas City on Tuesday.
Chiefs opt for staggering number of wide receivers
On the initial 53-man roster, the Chiefs kept a whopping eight wide receivers. The Chiefs generally have not kept more than six at that spot in most years under this regime. But of course, the looming Rashee Rice suspension makes the wide receiver position a fascinating one. That obviously had some impact on Tonyan.
One has to wonder if Rice will receive a suspension soon enough, even before Week 1. Could he and the league come to an agreement and get his suspension rolling as quickly as possible?
A scheduled hearing was set to take place on September 30. But at the same time, it was not impossible that a decision could come beforehand. That could lead to Kansas City utilizing its wide receiver depth as insurance for Rice's suspension right away. Tonyan being the odd man out for Tuesday's deadline may make a bit more sense as a result.
With eight wide receivers on the 53, K.C. is going with four running backs and three tight ends at the moment. That leaves Kelce, Noah Gray, and Jared Wiley as the tight ends currently in place. Wiley, specifically, will look to bounce back after missing most of last year with an injury.
Will Tonyan return to the team right away?
For so much emphasis on the 53-man roster after the cutdown deadline, this is all preliminary, and the roster will go through myriad changes even before Week 1 versus the Chargers. Injuries will also unfortunately come into play at some point.
Tonyan has enough accrued seasons to avoid the waiver wire. Because of that, Tonyan was officially released on Tuesday, rather than waived like younger pieces. According to Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star, the plan is for Tonyan to return to K.C. after other roster moves are announced in the coming days.
There is a solid chance that Kansas City had this plan in place for a while, despite all of the early outrage of Tonyan not making the cut. Depth at wide receiver was already going to be vital due to the Rice situation. In addition, quarterback Patrick Mahomes deserves the best options he can get, from top to bottom, especially after the last couple of years. Robert Tonyan deserves to be one of them.