The Kansas City Chiefs must trim their roster from 80 players to 53 players by 3:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, August 30.
They’ve already moved on from 10 players as part of the NFL’s newly-implemented gradual roster cuts this offseason. With some especially tough decisions to come, the front office in Kansas City could take this down to the wire. It’s also possible that some of the upcoming cuts could begin to trickle in over the weekend.
We’ll be tracking all the moves the Chiefs make here. Be sure to bookmark this page and check our Facebook and Twitter feeds for updates.
Current roster count: 75
Key
Coley Cleary – USA TODAY SMG
Here is a look at the types of roster moves the Chiefs could make during 53-man roster cuts:
Released: When a vested veteran (those who have accrued six seasons in the NFL) is cut from a team, they’re considered released. They’re not required to pass through waivers and can immediately become an unrestricted free agent and sign with another team.
Waived: Players who have not accrued six seasons in the NFL are waived instead of being released. 31 NFL teams will have a chance to claim waived players on their 53-man roster by 11:00 a.m. CT on August 31. If players are not claimed on waivers, they become unrestricted free agents. Waiver priority this time of year is determined by team records from the previous season. The team with the worst record will get the top waiver priority, in this case, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Waived/injured: If these players clear waivers they will revert to the Chiefs’ injured reserve list. They can opt to spend the season with Kansas City on IR or reach an injury settlement with the team, becoming a free agent.
Injured reserve: If a player is placed on injured reserve and is not on the 53-man roster on September 1, they are not allowed to be designated to return from injured reserve during the upcoming season.
Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list: Players on the Active/PUP list can be placed on the Reserve/PUP list in a move to get the roster down to 53 players. Players who are moved to the Reserve/PUP list can attend team meetings, use team facilities for rehab, but are not allowed to practice for six weeks. After six weeks another six-week window opens up during which the player can practice and be activated. If they’re not activated in that six-week period, they must be placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
Non-football injury (NFI) list: Players placed on the non-football injury list have to go through the same process as players on the Reserve/PUP list. They can go to team meetings and use facilities for rehab, but they’re not allowed to participate in practice for six weeks. After that period, another six-week window opens where they can return to practice and the team can choose to activate the player. If the player isn’t activated at the end of the second six-week period, they’ll remain on injured reserve for the rest of the season. The big difference between the NFI and PUP list is that teams can withhold a portion of a player’s salary if they’re placed on the NFI list.
