The Kansas City Chiefs have assembled its first iteration of the 53-man roster for the 2022 NFL season.
It wasn’t quite what many were expecting and will likely undergo some changes within the next 24 hours. The team will have the opportunity to send players to injured reserve, claim players on waivers and sign free agents by mid-day tomorrow. Before that happens, let’s take a look at the initial roster composition and see what we can draw from it.
Here are some thoughts on the initial 53-man roster:
Three quarterbacks not a big surprise
Historically speaking, Chiefs HC Andy Reid has often carried three quarterbacks on his rosters. He’s only carried fewer than three quarterbacks on three occasions since 1999, those just all happened to come in the past few years with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback. That said, it has been clear since last season that the team likes and wants to keep Shane Buechele long-term. They went out of their way to protect him and get him on the 53-man roster late in the year. With his performance in the preseason and the way the NFL values the quarterback position, this development shouldn’t be too surprising for fans. He very well could be the backup quarterback of the future in Kansas City should Chad Henne choose to retire.
Confidence shown in new receivers
Many believed that the Chiefs were bound to carry six receivers on the 53-man roster, which caused a bit of a stir when Daurice Fountain was released from the roster. The belief that the team would carry more receivers seemed to be centered around two things — the uncertainty at the position surrounding Tyreek Hill’s departure and Dave Toub’s need for special teamers. I get the sense that this is a bit of a show of faith in the receiver group that the Chiefs have assembled this year. It also doesn’t hurt when you have a trio of solid pass-catching tight ends like Travis Kelce, Noah Gray and Jody Fortson.
Preseason Week 3 helped Ronald Jones
Many on the Chiefs beat (including myself) had Ronald Jones not making the 53-man roster. He’d been mostly unimpressive during the course of training camp and through two preseason games, he’d produced just five yards on the ground on four carries. Then preseason Week 3 against the Packers comes along and Jones ripped off a 4.3-yard-per-carry performance on 9 carries and 13 snaps.
“I thought RoJo (Ronald Jones) did a nice job down the stretch, and we know what he’s capable of,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said on Tuesday. “It’s a matter of him being comfortable in the offense. (We) throw a lot at the running backs, and it looked like he was starting to get it down the stretch there. Good football player.”
Will this translate to snaps and action when the Chiefs suit up for Week 1? It’s hard to believe that they’ll keep four running backs active on game day, especially when Jones doesn’t play special teams. It’s entirely possible that Jones is a healthy scratch so long as Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Jerick McKinnon and Isiah Pacheco stay on the field.
What to make of 6 defensive ends?
The Chiefs kept six defensive ends on the 53-man roster with both 2021 fourth-round draft pick Joshua Kaindoh and 2021 undrafted free agent Malik Herring making it. The team had some questions about the defensive end position heading into the 2022 NFL offseason, but they shored it up with the additions of George Karlaftis and Carlos Dunlap. So why keep so many defensive ends? Herring suffered an oblique strain in the final preseason game and hasn’t been practicing. It sounds like the team might be gearing up to place him on injured reserve (which would allow him to be designated to return later this season). As for Kaindoh, he flashed enough in the final preseason game for the team to want to give him another shot. His 2021 NFL season was cut short by injury. Now, he’ll have a chance to reinforce the depth chart.
Don't worry about linebacker
The Chiefs carried just four linebackers on the initial 53-man roster. That’s very light for a 4-3 defense and specifically Steve Spagnuolo’s 4-3 defense. He’s been known to carry as many as six linebackers in the past. Well, the Chiefs are expected to bring back one of the linebackers they released on Tuesday. The KC Star reports that former K-State LB Elijah Lee will be back once the team makes the move to send TE Blake Bell to injured reserve. Lee even took to Twitter to reassure fans.
No panics keep your 44 jerseys!!
— Elijah Lee (@elee_doubleace) August 30, 2022
