Andy Reid’s new-look Chiefs roster shreds projections, deviates from the norm
Forget what you thought you knew about an Andy Reid roster.
This makeup of this year’s Chiefs 53-man roster is unlike any previous in Reid’s tenure, nullifying nearly all projections made over the last month.
With an emphasis on developing younger players, Reid and general manager Brett Veach constructed a roster for the future over the weekend, prioritizing work-in-progress players over the status quo.
The result? Two quarterbacks, two tight ends, five running backs, 10 offensive linemen and a slew of young defensive players on the Week 1 roster — all decisions that deviate from Reid’s usual pattern.
“We thought we had some good young guys that we wanted to keep,” Reid said Monday. “I think as you build a team, you’ve got to keep that in mind. As long as you’ve got players you feel comfortable can perform at a high level and win, those are the decisions you make. I can tell you by number if it’s more than what we’ve had in the past, but I think we have some good, young players that we feel we can develop.”
The most unusual move is the decision to keep just two quarterbacks. As long as Reid can remember, he’s had three quarterbacks, and Saturday afternoon, it appeared the Chiefs were going to keep with tradition.
In the initial round of cuts, the team chose Matt McGloin over undrafted rookie Chase Litton in an effort to give Patrick Mahomes with another veteran voice in the quarterback room.
But less than 24 hours later, the team released McGloin and signed Litton to the practice squad. That left just Mahomes and Chad Henne on the 53-man roster.
By cutting McGloin, the Chiefs freed up more space to take on some of the younger players, and Litton’s addition to the practice squad gives the team another project.
“First time for everything,” Reid said. “We looked at the percentages, I think there’s 17 or 18 teams, somewhere in there — you can double check me on that — but it’s somewhere in there that are doing it and have done it. We thought we’d do that and see how it worked. It was in order to keep the young guys.”
One of those young guys is Kahlil McKenzie, the Chiefs’ final 2018 draft pick. Converted from the defensive to the offensive line, McKenzie is still developing. But the organization saw enough potential to merit keeping him around.
“You just saw him get better every week,” Reid said. “Is he ready to go right now? Not right this minute. But he will be throughout this season, he’ll be able to get better.”
By keeping McKenzie on the roster, the Chiefs enter the regular season with 10 offensive linemen. It’s the first time since the initial 53-man roster in 2014 that the Chiefs have opened the season with more than nine offensive linemen.
“We like the guys that we’ve got there,” Reid said. “We’ve kept 10 before. You can’t have enough of those guys. Again, everything in this thing is fluid. Right now, everybody is feeling everybody out and going. I can’t tell you what’s there today, is there tomorrow. I can’t say that. But we like the guys that we have. That’s why we’ve kept them.”
While the Chiefs went with an extra body on the offensive line, they went the opposite direction at tight end. With Demetrius Harris suspended and unavailable for Week 1, the Chiefs have just two available tight ends: Travis Kelce and Alex Ellis. Most years, Reid entered the season with at least three tight ends.
But he isn’t worried about the lack of depth at that position.
“We’re OK with it,” Reid said. “We’re OK there. We kept an extra runner, too, than we normally do. But, we’re with Demetrius in this situation that he’s got. When he comes back next week, we’ll have our three. Feel pretty good about that. Right now, we’re good enough to get through a game, I think.”
That extra runner is undrafted rookie Darrel Williams.
A year ago, the Chiefs kept just four running backs, including fullback Anthony Sherman. This time around, Williams made a convincing case to be included in the 53-man, continuing the Chiefs’ roster restructure in order to carry more developmental players.
“We tell them to make our decision as tough as they can possibly make it,” Reid said. “And he did that. When Brett was sorting everything out, that wasn’t an easy decision. That was something he had to think about because we normally don’t keep that many backs. But he deserves to be here.”
Williams is just one of the rookies to earn a spot on the roster. Fellow undrafted newcomer Ben Niemann grabbed a spot in the linebacker group, pushing out second-year linebacker Ukeme Eligwe, who was signed to the Giants practice squad on Monday. And in the secondary, the Chiefs opted for youth over veteran talent by releasing cornerback David Amerson and signing safety Jordan Lucas, safety Armani Watts cornerback Chavarius Ward and cornerback Tremon Smith.
Brooke Pryor
Brooke Pryor covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.
