Chiefs send message to bubble players in final preseason game ahead of roster cuts
If the third preseason game is a dress rehearsal, then consider the fourth to be an open tryout for a handful of final spots on the 53-man roster.
Players like linebacker/defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu and safety Jordan Lucas helped themselves by recording a sack and an interception, respectively.
Others, like undrafted free agent cornerback Mark Fields, hurt their chances by seeming to enrage Chiefs coach Andy Reid with costly penalties in the 27-20 loss to the Packers on Thursday night.
“It was good to get the young guys so much playing time,” Reid said. “I was proud of the effort. Just too many penalties and turnovers. Not going to win football games by doing that in the National Football League. Got to clean that up and get ready for Jacksonville.”
And while some made strong cases for roster spots by playing decently enough on Thursday night, others helped themselves more by not playing against the Packers.
By not forcing guys like Darwin Thompson and Darrel Williams to audition one final time, the Chiefs seemed to telegraph a handful of roster decisions ahead of Saturday’s 3 p.m. roster-cut deadline.
While every member of the Chiefs was dressed out on the sideline, neither Thompson nor Williams took any offensive snaps. Instead, Carlos Hyde started at running back, and rookie Marcus Marshall was the second back in. Marshall finished with 59 yards on 14 rushes, averaging 4.2 yards per carry, while Hyde had 29 yards on eight carries.
“That’s the way it worked out,” Reid said of Hyde’s workload. “We were trying to balance out the guys reps and so he was short, and I asked him to play the game, part of this. And I called a lot of runs to him initially. I wanted to get his carries up, so we had enough to evaluate. He did a nice job.”
In sitting Williams and Thompson, the Chiefs brass strongly suggests that the pair are locks behind starter Damien Williams, while Hyde and Marshall appear to be on the outs.
Thompson, a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft, quickly rose in the depth chart during the preseason thanks to an aggressive running style and a knack for picking up yards after contact.
Since his first preseason game where he grabbed a 29-yard touchdown, Thompson has started taking some reps with the first- and second-team offense in practice. By not playing him Thursday, the Chiefs seemingly cemented Thompson’s status as Damien Williams’ primary backup.
Wide receivers Cody Thompson (two catches, 15 yards), De’Anthony Thomas (one catch, 20 yards), and Byron Pringle played in Thursday’s game. Thompson and Pringle started and none of them saw extensive time — also suggesting they’re trending in the right direction to make the roster.
On defense, Mo Claiborne and Fields started at the cornerback spots, while Rashad Fenton came on in nickel packages. Neither D’Montre Wade nor Herb Miller played on defense until the fourth quarter. Because Claiborne is suspended the first four weeks of the season, there’s space for both Wade and Miller on the initial 53-man roster.
Two players, though, who did have to play Thursday to make a final impression for a practice squad spot were quarterbacks Kyle Shurmur and Chase Litton.
Reid confirmed earlier in the week that neither were considered for the job of Mahomes’ primary backup when Chad Henne went down with a fractured ankle, but it’s likely the Chiefs will keep one around the facility on the practice squad.
Shurmur got the first crack, completing 14 of 20 attempts for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the first half.
He opened up by leading a 17-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ended in a 28-yard field goal when he got sacked as Pace Murphy failed to hold his block.
From there, Shurmur’s night went downhill, hurt by inconsistent play from the Chiefs’ offensive line — which started LT Dino Boyd, LG Jeff Allen, C Nick Allegretti, RG Ryan Hunter and RT Pace Murphy.
Shurmur was sacked again and threw an interception that was returned for a 74-yard pick-six.
“You go back and look at the turnovers and were they pressured, did they get hit? Those kind of things,” Reid said. “Sometimes those can be, you can spread those around, responsibility.”
Litton, last year’s practice-squad quarterback, got his shot in the second half, where he led a touchdown and a field-goal drive in the third quarter. He completed 11 of 19 attempts for 62 yards overall. He was sacked once in addition to his touchdown.
“I feel like I made some plays,” Litton said of his preseason body of work. “There’s some plays I didn’t make. They put us in great situations. Guys made tremendous plays for me and hopefully they see that on film.”
With the slate of preseason games finally wrapped up, Chiefs players like Litton will spend the next two days waiting to hear if they did enough to earn a roster spot.
“I just tell my family don’t text me or call me,” Litton said. “Kind of nerve-wracking every time you see your phone ring. It’s part of the process. I knew that heading into this. I knew that heading into tonight. I knew it when I was going to be in training camp and OTAs, all of that.
“So that’s just part of the gig and it’s kind of what you sign up for.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 9:46 PM.