As you may have already figured out at this point, the "final" 53-man rosters around the NFL are anything but final. Even though teams had to send in a finalized version of their rosters more than a week ago, there has already been a lot of tinkering for all 32 teams and that will continue throughout the season.
For the Kansas City Chiefs, the 53-man roster situation is going to be extremely fluid because this team has a chance to win a third-straight Super Bowl. They are going to do whatever it takes to make upgrades all throughout the season and that could end up meaning guys who cracked the initial 53-man roster could become roster casualties at some point before the end of the year.
Which players may not survive this season for Kansas City?
1. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Running Back
Not since Clyde Edwards-Helaire's rookie season have we seen the former LSU star really play at a level high enough to justify his first-round NFL Draft status. Edwards-Helaire seemed like the absolute perfect fit for the Chiefs on paper before the 2020 NFL Draft, and he looked like the perfect fit on the field in his rookie season.
For whatever the reasons, he just hasn't been able to put things together consistently enough to be a true RB1 for the Chiefs, or possibly even a RB2 for them.
Over the course of the preseason, the Chiefs saw the emergence of Carson Steele, who looks like he could be in line for a decent amount of touches this season after what we all witnessed during the exhibition games. After roster cuts, the Chiefs also signed veteran running back Samaje Perine who was cut by the Denver Broncos.
Edwards-Helaire was placed on the NFI (Non-Football Illness) list and will miss the first four weeks of the season. Edwards-Helaire is suffering from a form of PTSD from a tragic situation, and you obviously hope the Chiefs and the NFL will stand by him through something like that. As far as football is concerned, it wouldn't be surprising if we've seen the last of Edwards-Helaire with the Chiefs.
2. Skyy Moore, Wide Receiver
One of the position groups that I think could be in flux for the Kansas City Chiefs all throughout the season is the wide receiver position. The Chiefs had to sort through a pretty large group of players during their offseason program and training camp, and they already made some pretty tough cuts.
Even though Chiefs fans aren't exactly sad to see him go, the Chiefs cut former first-round pick and trade acquisition Kadarius Toney (who remains a free agent). They cut Justyn Ross and Nikko Remigio, a pair of training camp studs, and ended up bringing them back to the practice squad.
They brought in JuJu Smith-Schuster after he was cut by the New England Patriots and he immediately supplanted former second-round pick Skyy Moore on the depth chart.
With Marquise Brown starting off the season dealing with a shoulder injury, it's not likely that we'll see Moore cut or traded anytime soon, but as the Chiefs' receiver room gets healthy, it wouldn't be shocking in the slightest to see them let him go. It felt like he was on the roster bubble at the end of the preseason and that he was lucky to have made it in the first place.
If we see Moore out there struggling to start the season, the Chiefs could even look to replace him on the 53-man roster with one of the guys currently on the practice squad, especially players like Remigio and Montrell Washington who have punt return experience.
3. Felix Anudike-Uzomah, EDGE
This one would be a shocker, but there are plenty of signs there that we could see the Chiefs give up on former first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah, even though he's only been in the league since 2023.
The Chiefs already have an established star off of one edge with former first-round pick George Karlaftis leading the charge. They also re-signed Mike Danna this past offseason, giving him a three-year deal worth $24 million in total money.
That's no chump change for Danna, who will be expected to play a substantial role for the Chiefs going forward. The Chiefs also have Charles Omenihu under contract, even though he's starting off the year on the PUP list.
Maybe the biggest sign that Anudike-Uzomah has fallen out of favor or isn't playing up to the Chiefs' standard at this point is the team's decision to trade for Cameron Thomas of the Cardinals at roster cuts. Although Thomas was acquired for the low price of a 7th-round pick, the Chiefs undoubtedly plucked him away from the Cardinals thinking they could extract more out of him than Arizona was able to.
He may have been a late pick in the third round for the Cardinals but he was a top-100 selection nonetheless. Anudike-Uzomah was a first-round pick so perhaps the Chiefs, if they are pleased with the rest of their edge group, could trade him to someone who also had a high pre-draft grade on him.
The situation just might not be right for him to get the snaps required to thrive in Kansas City. Unless we see him emerge in a rotational role early in the season, it looks like the former Kansas State star has fallen out of favor and could be moved at some point.
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