David Bell
We are past the cutdown day. I remarked that the PS formation was important. The Chiefs brought back all of the major components with only one Hiccup.
Losing CB Kahlef Hailassie
The Chiefs lost CB Kahlef Hailassie, who was awarded to the Browns off waivers. Hailassie had moments in Pre-Season where he shined but was not retained and did not clear waivers for the Chiefs to reclaim him for the PS. Hailassie was a 6 foot, 195 LB CB out of Western Kentucky and had an INT in the Chief’s Preseason. Sad to see him depart, but he was not a true 53-man roster prospection.
Counter Hiccup: Acquiring CB Darius Rush
From the Indianapolis Waivers
I have no idea if the Chiefs had foreseen this move, but they immediately jumped on. GM Chris Ballard left Darius Rush exposed when he was waived. I suppose, similar to the Chiefs and Hailassie, Ballard could not advance Rush to the active roster. Brett Veach jumped on that and brought Rush to the Chiefs. Darius Rush is a 6’2″, 195 LB CB who was a Gamecock of SC.
Rush adds to the depth for CB Group and is a better fit for the Chiefs secondary. Add to that his arm length of 33 3/8″ with a 9 1/2″ hand measurement. Beyond that, he brings Special Teams Coach Dave Toub, a true Gunner. Rush had a 4.36sec – 40 time, a good vertical of 35″ and his broad jump was very good at 10’1″ which attests to his explosiveness. Not only that, but while Hailassie was a UDFA, Rush was the Colt’s Round 5 pick 3 draftee. Here the tradeoff appears obvious and picking up Rush from waivers was an excellent move by GM Brett Veach.
“What Rush has going for him is size and athleticism, and an understanding of how to use it all to his advantage. He’s 6-foot-2 and 199 pounds, long-limbed and explosive to boot. He ran a 4.36s 40-yard dash (tied for fourth best) and jumped 35 inches at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.”
– Charles Goldman @ AtoZSports
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I like the exchange of Rush for Hailassie a bunch. He did have a pick against the Bills in Preseason as well.
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Hiccup? Trading Ihmir Smith-Marsette (IS-M)
I can’t say this was a true Hiccup. Even though the Chiefs did indeed retain 7 WRs on the active roster. One of our ArrowheadOne occasional authors, Phillip Maxwell, was very big on Smith-Marsette, who proved the point with his production in the 3rd Preseason Game.
I had almost come to the conclusion that IS-M might be the 7th WR for the Active Roster, but it turned out not to be the case. What I saw was Richie James and Smith-Marsette had very similar skill sets. Laddie Morse and I had at least two exchanges about whether KC would go with proven production or youth. I decided early on that James would make the active roster while the youth of Smith-Marsette was also a consideration. Laddie came away with a similar conclusion, and that was how it worked out as an end result. Ihmir was traded to the Panthers resulting in a swap with Carolina of 7th-round picks. Here, Brett Veach gave IS-M a benefit while improving the Chiefs draft position in the process. The fact that Smith-Marsette will have a shot at improving his 2023 stock on an active roster was a sign of respect by the Chiefs for the player. He was highly thought of in the Chiefs training camp.
Brett Veach commented on the trade by saying: “He took advantage of every opportunity,” said Veach.
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“When I told him the trade, I told him he’s earned it… He has a good chance to be active [in Carolina]. We’re certainly happy for him and wish him nothing but the best.”
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The Big Hiccup! –> DT Chris Jones
This is an aside to Roster cuts and PS Building
Which comes first? The Chicken or the Egg? I have written repeatedly that Jones had a right to hold out for the money. At the same time, Brett Veach made a solid offer and hasn’t backed off of it nor given in the the Jones camp demands (Include here, the NFLPA). As the season is about to unfold within about 5 days, some positive news about CJ’s extension came through. I have no idea, what the offer was that Veach and the Chiefs have made. Jones has been a very popular play among other players, coaches, and the Chiefs Kingdom. Still, the hold out is now in a phase where it hurts the team. A segment of the fandom has now turned negative about CJ and that is not a good sign. Even if Jones reports on Monday, he won’t be in game-playing shape for Thursday’s Season Opening Game. This puts the Chiefs in a bad position as they cannot afford any losses if they are going to repeat as AFC West Champions as well as retaking the Hunt Trophy in order to get to Super Bowl LVIII.
Here is Veach via NFL On NBC about CJ:
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The reality of Jones holding out is that it costs him a minimum of $50k per day. Missing a game by not reporting, will cost Jones about $1.1M per game. Jones stated that he could afford to miss 8 games. That’s $8.8M plus 50k per day. As of today, Jones has lost:
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Even after reporting, the Chiefs could claim a roster exemption for two weeks and then place Jones on the Active Roster. Also, Jones is likely to forfeit a portion of his Signing Bonus. I have read that this might amount to $4M of an $8M+ Bonus. All in all, Chris Jones has lost a significant sum of money and that amount grows daily. Chris Clark tweeted the following on August 30th:
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The Jones Saga Continues
At least we have seen Brett Veach comfortable before the press in regard to getting Jones on board. Veach was positive about that occurring so that Jones could be available for September 7th. I am highly skeptical and as Phil Maxwell observed on August 31st in comments on Josh Kingsley’s column, Kingsley’s Kingdom, 8.31.23:
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“A lot of this will come down to Katz and
whether he believes Veach is bluffing or not.”
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Phillip goes on to say:
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“So far, CJs camp has pushed this thing to the limit expecting Veach to blink by now, but he hasn’t. So now (my guess) is Katz will take this thing into the season a game or two (not 8) and see if Veach is just playing poker or if he is truly standing firm. Once Katz sees that Veach isn’t playing around, he will recommend that CJ dress and report before he loses any more dough and he has to sell one of his mansions. Once Katz sees that Veach isn’t playing around, he will recommend that CJ dress and report before he loses any more dough and he has to sell one of his mansions. Then next season, Tag and trade.“
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My Bottom Line
The actions of Jones is now hurting the team. The Chiefs come first, then the player. Without the fans, as I pointed out the other day, there is no purpose to the NFL. CJ is losing fan support. He may not care…. the NFLPA doesn’t care, plus, his agent doesn’t care. Jones can override their view of things and get on with the season. Or not. Right now he is leaving a buttload of cash on the table, a similar thing that happened with Orlando Brown and his agent (and the NFLPA). I will leave it at that.
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David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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