6 Chiefs Playing Their Way Out of Kansas City's 2025 Plans

The Kansas City Chiefs' perfect run continued in Week 8 with Sunday's 27-20 win over the rival Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. The defending Super Bowl Champions are now 10 victories away from a flawless regular season, leaving time to tell if they can continue racking up wins down the stretch.

Players have stepped up throughout head coach Andy Reid's lineup, likely securing their future in Kansas City in the process. At the same time, despite all of the team's early success, certain Chiefs are playing below expectations, which might be putting their future with the franchise in jeopardy.

Here's a look at six Chiefs who are playing their way out of Kansas City's 2025 plans.

1. Carson Steele, RB

After Isiah Pacheco fractured his fibula in Week 2, undrafted rookie rusher Carson Steele had the perfect opportunity to cement himself as the Chiefs' No. 1 running back. After all, the ex-UCLA product showed some potential during the preseason with 87 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries.

Instead of stepping up, Steele struggled to look like an NFL player. The 22-year-old RB has only registered 140 rushing yards on 41 carries, resulting in an unimpressive 3.4 yards per carry. He's also failed to leave a mark in the passing game, hauling in only three of his six targets for an additional 10 yards.

That's without mentioning how Steele has struggled with ball security, tallying three fumbles in his first seven games. His lackluster performances have led to a 54.6 offense grade on Pro Football Focus, which is the third-worst showing of 62 eligible running backs.

With Kareem Hunt now excelling as the lead back despite not joining the team until late September, the writing is on the wall for Steele. It's more likely that the Chiefs would rather run with Hunt as the RB2 upon Pacheco's return rather than watch the undrafted rookie fail to make the most of any opportunity he sees.