On Tuesday, the Kansas City Chiefs made a flurry of moves to accommodate the 53-man roster limit deadline. The parting ways with several players that helped play roles on the team over the last few seasons were brutal for fans but even tougher for the front office in charge of making the decisions.
Chiefs’ general manager, Brett Veach, is charged with making the big personnel decisions for the franchise and was faced with the tough call not to retain backup quarterback Shane Buechele following an improved preseason performance. He spoke with reporters on Wednesday for a press conference to explain the critical decision.
Buy Chiefs Tickets“Yeah, that was a tough one,” Veach said of his decision to cut the former SMU Mustang. “We’ve gone in different directions in different years. We just try to keep some young guys, too; it’s difficult. You do try to project some guys that you can get in the practice squad and, you know, keep in six linebackers with something that is a little bit of an oddity in some regards.
“Still, when you have these young guys that are likely to be gone, you want to see that through. I think sometimes you have to make tough decisions. Obviously, Shane is a good football player. And you know, we love having him around. You know, certainly gonna miss him.”
Buechele played well in the first two preseason games but struggled with two interceptions as the starter for last Saturday’s preseason finale against the Cleveland Browns.
“It was just one of those things where at the end of the day, we always say this all the guys at the end of the day, like make our jobs easy and put it on tape, and that’s where Blaine (Gabbert) came out and won the job,” Veach continued. “It doesn’t make it any easier because I think there was a lot of trust and belief in Shane Buechele and loved him as a player but it wasn’t an easy decision. I think just from a roster management standpoint, and trying to navigate through the D-Line and (Charles) Omenihu suspension and wanting some extra corners because they’re young. They’re just sometimes rostered. As soon as Yeah, decisions you have to make. And that was what we felt was best at this time.”
Buechele finished the preseason and quite possibly his Chiefs career with 349 passing yards, three touchdowns, and as many interceptions.
