Arrowhead Pride
Kansas City’s training camp is underway in St. Joseph. Right now, here’s how we see late August’s 53-man roster.
The Kansas City Chiefs will hold their first training camp practice Tuesday morning, with four full-team workouts scheduled from Tuesday to Friday. The Chiefs have their first off day on Saturday.
As we repeat annually, while we always try to do our best in these projection exercises, there is almost no chance this matches the final 53 on August 26 — and it is nearly impossible to account for players who are to be released from other rosters.
My projections blend things I’ve seen, heard and inferred. Let’s dive in:
The league’s top quarterback will have his fourth backup in as many seasons: journeyman Gardner Minshew. He arrives in Kansas City with plenty of experience, having started 46 games over his six-year NFL career. Chris Oladokun and Bailey Zappe are expected to compete for the team’s third-string position on the practice squad.
The running back room may be a little trickier than advertised, as I see the only true locks at the top and bottom. Isiah Pacheco added more weight for his contract season, while rookie Brashard Smith projects to be a gadget piece while starting at one of the returner positions.
Quietly, free-agent running back Elijah Mitchell signed for a greater signing bonus and guaranteed money than Kareem Hunt — but my resistance in following that trail comes from Mitchell’s historical lack of durability. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub seems to have a plan for Carson Steele, and he lined up 55 times as a fullback during the 2024 regular season.
For this exercise, we have assumed that Rashee Rice will head straight for the suspended list. Among those who will be left, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and rookie Jalen Royals are all set for the roster.
If Kansas City initially keeps six, the final two seats will be up for grabs among seven or eight contenders. Nikko Remigio showed to be a capable returner at the end of 2024’s campaign, and Toub has not been shy about his love for his game.
I think this could be the end of the road for Skyy Moore, who hasn’t been able to carve out a consistent role since being selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He will have to beat out several capable options — including Tyquan Thornton (who has been in the system since November) — if he hopes to make the final roster.
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid announced that three Chiefs would head to the physically unable to perform (PUP) list out of the gate in training camp. The...
