Kansas City Chiefs: The Ups and Downs of 53-Man Cuts

Chiefs bring back safety Ron Parker

Kansas City decided to move on from some household names on the defensive side of the ball this season. One of those names including safety Ron Parker. The plan was to start Daniel Sorensen in that role next to star safety Eric Berry who was returning from a season-long injury that happened in Week 1 of last season.

Unfortunately, Sorensen sustained an injury and will be out for some time. How long will depend on the recovery process, but the timetable for that injury can change by large amounts. Even if Sorensen could return by Week 5 or 6, he wouldn’t be anywhere near game shape.

Without Berry on the field for the entire preseason, we have seen the likes of Eric Murray, Leon McQuay, and Armani Watts as the starting safeties. McQuay has been brutally awful and someone that should not see any starting time. Murray hasn’t looked that good either which leaves us with the rookie safety Watts.

While I still think that Watts has some developing to do, I think he should start and get those reps. The only reason I would see Parker coming back as a good move is if the team is questioning Berry’s health. I don’t know that I see him playing the entire season either, but if he is ready to go to start the season, I want to look at Watts getting that playing time over Parker.

While Parker knows the defense and can step in right away, he showed significant decline last season. Without Berry on the field, he was asked to do more. That can be said about Sorensen as well. The problem is that I don’t want to see Parker on the field over Watts and if he has to play because Berry is hurt, I don’t think it’s looking good for the safety group. He is an upgrade over McQuay and Murray without a doubt.