This Chiefs player already knows where he stands for regular-season opener
With roster cuts looming, the future of one Chiefs player is already sealed.
Tight end Demetrius Harris won’t be with the team in L.A. next week when the regular season opens. Harris will serve a one-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. He’ll miss the opener on Sept. 9 at the Chargers.
“I’ll still be around the team next week, going to meetings and everything,” Harris said.
Harris was full-go for Thursday’s preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers and contributed immediately.
On the Chiefs’ first drive, Harris was targeted twice and caught both balls, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to conclude the team’s first series.
From the 3-yard line, quarterback Chad Henne found Harris, who had lined up wide left. Harris made a move to the outside, then cut in and made a nice grab as he reached back for the ball.
“Just a slant,” Harris said. “I had to make a little adjustment, but he put it in a good place, where only I could get it.”
The Chiefs cashed in with the touchdown after the first of two interceptions from rookie safety Armani Watts started the possession.
After the first series, some of the Chiefs’ offensive starters went to the bench, including Harris. Assuming he’s with the team after his suspension, Harris’ first action this season will be at Pittsburgh on Oct. 16.
Harris has been the Chiefs’ second tight end since 2015. In 56 career games, including 30 starts, he has 45 receptions and three touchdowns. He also has been a special-teams contributor.
Earlier in the week, Chiefs coach Andy Reid called the suspension Harris’ “break.” It will be the first game he’s missed in three years.
After No. 1 tight end Travis Kelce, playing time in the preseason has gone primarily to two other tight ends, Jace Amaro and Alex Ellis.
Amaro was a second-round draft pick of the Jets in 2014 and appeared in 14 of his career 17 games that season.
Ellis appeared in six games and had three receptions with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016. The Chiefs acquired him off waivers from the Saints in May.
Both have made plays in the preseason and statistically had their biggest games on Thursday. Amaro had four receptions for 48 yards, Ellis four for 40 yards.
For the preseason, Ellis finished with 10 catches for 93 yards and Amaro nine for 86.
With NFL teams having to reach the 53-man roster limit on Saturday, the Chiefs are likely to keep three tight ends. That was the case in 2017 and 2016. They kept four in 2016.
“We have to talk about how things will go,” Reid said after Thursday’s game. “I think they all have done a nice job.”
Blair Kerkhoff
Blair Kerkhoff covers the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals and college sports for The Star.
This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 9:55 PM.