Roster cuts are never easy in the NFL.
From the human element of it to the football element of it, the decisions made sometimes come down to things that are entirely out of a player’s hands. That was the case with the Kansas City Chiefs when they opted to go with just five wide receivers on the 53-man roster.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach spoke about the decision and how it came to be during the course of roster cuts. Not only did past waiver wire trends influence their decision, but the need for another position group also weighed heavily on the team’s personnel department.
“Yeah, we went back and forth,” Veach told reporters on Wednesday. “A couple – I think sometimes there is that game within the game, so knowing how waiver wires work and knowing the trends of claims and knowing where we’ve been exposed over the years.
“I think like defensive end is one position that it seems like for some reason we always accumulate injuries at the position and we’re always a little short at the defensive end position. We have a couple of older, veteran guys at that position as well and we thought that there would be a good chance to go heavier on that and have the opportunity to come back and have these guys like Daurice (Fountain) ready to go and put him on the practice squad.”
The Chiefs released several vested veteran receivers during 53-man roster cuts and waived others. It was a bit of a gamble, but it ultimately paid off. The Chiefs re-signed both Daurice Fountain and Cornell Powell on the practice squad, also offensive weapon Jerrion Ealy, reinforcing their receiver depth chart.
Playing the waiver wires right allowed the Chiefs to keep some of their younger defensive ends, who could come in handy with players like Frank Clark (illness) and Carlos Dunlap (Achilles) already missing practice time. Still, Veach stresses that the decisions made weren’t easy. It’s a balancing act between working the system in place and keeping the best possible players for your roster.
“So, it’s never easy,” Veach said. “You kind of go back and forth, trying to work the system to get all these players. We had a lot of good guys that we cut who we thought were 53-man-roster-caliber players. A little bit of it is calculating how the league works as a whole and we’re able to make these roster decisions and then sign some of these guys back to the practice squad. And as I mentioned, Daurice was one of them – we had a good conversation – it’s just a matter of time before we’re going to need him, and he’ll be on the team at some point – it’s such a long season. I think it worked out in that regard.”
