Kansas City Chiefs: 53-man roster predictions following first preseason game
Quarterbacks
Keep: Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne, Chase Litton
Cut: Matt McGloin
The quarterback position seems relatively simple to me. Patrick Mahomes takes charge of the Kansas City offense this season with Chad Henne as almost a guaranteed lock as an experienced veteran. Henne has been called a coordinator in the locker room which makes him a perfect fit to sit behind Mahomes during his first starting season.
Henne also shows a significant upside over the other two quarterbacks. While he had his fair share of mistakes during the Chiefs preseason opener with batted passes at the line, the beautiful touchdown pass to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson showed he has the talent and veteran leadership the Chiefs need behind Mahomes.
Matt McGloin is a mixture of veteran presence and young developmental talent prospect. Although, I feel like we have seen what McGloin is in the NFL. Spending his first four seasons drafted by the Oakland Raiders, McGloin has seven regular season starts to his name. During those seven starts, McGloin finished 1-6 with 1,868 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Six of those starts came during his rookie season in 2013.
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Then there is undrafted free agent quarterback Chase Litton out of Marshall. Coming into the NFL from a smaller school, Litton has yet to see any real competition that would replicate NFL defenses. Litton threw for 7 of 13 for 66 yards while also rushing the ball twice for seven yards. He led the offense down the field only to come up three yards shy of the end zone.
While Litton is nowhere near ready to start in the NFL, he would make a great developmental quarterback for Andy Reid. The last few seasons, Tyler Bray has been that developmental project and likely lost that role as the Chiefs third quarterback when he threw up all over the field in his Week 17 performance when stepping in late in the game.
Reid likes to have a quarterback to develop at the third quarterback position in the hope of finding another good quarterback. Getting ahold of them in their rookie season allows him to develop them into what he likes. I feel like it’s Litton’s job to lose for the third spot on this roster.