There’s a lot more going on this week in the Kansas City Chiefs Kingdom than Training Camp. Later today the Chiefs — and every other NFL team — must cut their roster down by 5 players. Here’s a look at the cutdown schedule as the league requires cuts after each of the Preseason game weekends on the Tuesday following each those games. The actual time is at 4:00 PM ET this afternoon.
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- Tuesday, August 17: Down to 85
- Tuesday, August 24: Down to 80
- Tuesday, August 31: Down to 53
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So, that’s where we’ll begin today.
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Who will the Chiefs cut today?
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Of the five guys the Chiefs must cut today, I’ve gone through the roster to project who some of those players might be. Maybe these guys among those cut:
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DT Tyler Clark and/or DE Austin Edwards – K.C. is deep along the DL, so it seems reasonable to think these gentlemen may be looking for jobs by the end of today.
WR Maurice Ffrench– Ffrench was a Practice Squad player for K.C. in 2020, it seems likely he’s headed there again
QB Shane Buechele – Shane Buechele engineered the late 4th quarter drive in Preseason Game One, but Reid will ultimately cut two of his QBs. If he cuts one this week, it;s with te idea that they could catch on with another team but cutting them early.
RB Derrick Gore – The Running Back room is full so Gore seems like the odd man out at this point. It’s either him or Elijah McGuire.
WR Dalton Schoen – I haven’t hear Schoen’s name called much in preseason Training camp. The WRs are loaded…. so….
OG Bryan Witzmann – Witzmann was the last guy brought in, so maybe he’s the first guy out. He was a 2020 PS guy, so maybe he’s headed there again.
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It always has surprised me in past year, who gets cut and I’ve often had the reaction: “I didn’t even know that guy was on the team.” I guess I’m too familiar with the roster for that to happen this year. Tyler Clark comes the closest.
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Will Jody Fortson make
the 53 man roster?
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The odds are high that Jody Fortson makes this year’s 53 man roster and gets past the final cut down. Fortson is a 6-foot-6, 230 lbs. tight end converted from a WR. He has reportedly bulked up this offseason and is having by far his best camp yet. He was signed by the Chiefs as an UDFA in 2019 but has been so consistently good, that he was the skill posotion player with the most number of snaps in the Chiefs first preseason game vs the 49ers:
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If you’re making up a 2021 Chiefs 53 man roster, I wouldn’t leave him off of yours if I were you.
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I wonder if the Chiefs are/would field calls on Juan [Thornhill] for trade value?
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I agree with a recent tweet by Joshua Brisco, when he posted:
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“Andy Reid says Juan Thornhill is “just working back in,” says he wouldn’t take anything from where he’s getting his snaps right now.”
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That was Andy Reid just yesterday after practice. Safety Juan Thornhill is going nowhere. That said, Brett Veach will field calls from all comers at all hours of the night and day 24/7/365 … or as the Beatles once sang: “Eight Days a Week.”
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Will the Chiefs make a significant trade to strengthen a position group before the season begins?
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The Chiefs are loaded at some positions, and thin at others. At least that’s the current perception. The reality is… we don’t know how the coaches and front office view each grouping. Take the CB group for example: it looks like they’re thin, especially when it comes to any kind of veteran presence. The Chiefs are also loaded along the OL. One could easily speculate that a trade of some of that OL depth could be bartered with to pull in an experienced CB. However, as much as we’ve seen Brett Veach pull of one of his late Preseason trades, I’m not so sure it’s going to happen this year.
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The only caveat there is: it really looks like — at this point in time — that K.C. will have ot let go of an offensive lineman who they’d rather not let go of. The same could be said for the WR position. I’ve entertained some of this conjecture — along with David Bell — that an “extra” WR talent plus an “extra” OL talent, could be packaged to bring in a CB with maturity and know-how at the position. That CB wouldn’t have to be a starter, but his presence could really benefit a younger collection of CBs.
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What appears to be the glitch in this itch is: the Chiefs could be thrilled with their CB’s overall. They played pretty well in Preseason Game One vs the 49ers and except of that one play, an 80 yard TD from Trey Lance to Trent Sherfield, the DBs would have held them to 128 yards total. I know, I know… you can’t do that kind of revisionist history, but the responsibility fell to a rookie UDFA Safety, Devon Key, who will in all likelihood learn from that mistake. The point is, the CBs didn’t give up that TD… and the Chiefs coaches could easily be happy campers with the coverage players they already have in house.
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Will Alex Smith be a good Broadcaster?
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Price Carter, who used to write for us hear at ArrowheadOne, asked his readers this same question and I’d have to agree 100%, just like all the people who answered his question.
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Can you say with a straight face Tom Brady is a Top Five QB in the league?
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Probably the most popular measure of a a QB is his completion percentage. Do you know where Tom Brady ended up on that list in 2020? That would be 19th. However, Patrick Mahomes ended up at #16 so maybe that’s not the best measure of a QB’s value. The popular “QB Rating” (which has been used for decades before ESPN came up with their own QBR) has Brady as the 9th best QB in 2020 while our Mr. Mahomes was 3rd (with Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson ahead of him). In ESPN’s QBR system, Brady ranked 9th with Mahomes at #2.
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Was this year’s draft the best draft for Brett Veach so far?
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Let’s take a look at each of the drafts GM Brett Veach has been the trigger man for (not counting 2017, when he was reportedly the person who brought Patrick Lavon Mahomes II to Andy Reid and John Dorsey’s attention):
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All of those players above seen in Bold, are players who have already seen the field for the Chiefs. Of course, some of them are already gone, like: Breeland Speaks, Tremon Smith, and Kahlil McKenzie. In that 2018 draft, only Nnadi, O’Daniel and Watts remain. Nnadi has been a regular contributor and sometimes starter. O’Daniel has seen fewer and fewer starting snaps (last year he only had 9 defensive snaps at LB) and Armani Watts has been a part time contributor as well (but he’s having a very good camp). Right now, that appears to be Veach’s worst draft… and it was his first.
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It looks like Veach has gotten better and better, which is partly to be expected as he gets his own guys working for him and his inner-team solidified as the years have passed. In 2019, both Nick Allegretti and Rashad Fenton were very good late round picks. His selection os L’Jarius Sneed has been his best pick so far and getting him at #138 is amazing because Sneed is probably the Chiefs best corner right now. Mike Danna was a surprise last season and for a pick #177, he’s done remarkably well.
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With Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith becoming starters on the OL in their rookie campaigns, this year certainly has the potential to be the best draft yet for Veach. It looks to me like he’s getting better and better at the drafting process.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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