6 Players Chiefs Will Regret Leaving Off 53-Man Roster

5. Irv Smith Jr., tight end

The Chiefs were obviously very unimpressed with Irv Smith Jr. this offseason.

So much so that they actually sent draft capital to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for tight end Peyton Hendershot. Obviously no one is taking snaps from Travis Kelce this year, but the Chiefs have pretty darn good depth at this position. Noah Gray is obviously very well-liked by this staff and will play the TE2 role.

The addition this offseason of Jared Wiley in the 4th round of the draft out of TCU seemingly put veteran free agent signing Irv Smith Jr. on the chopping block.

And now, here we are.

But interestingly enough, it wasn't just that the Chiefs didn't like the idea of keeping a fourth tight end around. They made sure they secured someone they felt could contribute, and the former 2nd-round pick out of Alabama wasn't cutting it.

Smith has shown some big-time potential throughout the course of his NFL career, and the main thing that has seemingly derailed that potential is obviously injury. Smith missed the entire 2021 season and has missed a lot of other games besides that, but the idea of the Chiefs rolling the dice on his talent made plenty of sense this offseason.

Given the fact that the Chiefs did make a trade for Peyton Hendershot, it could come back to bite them if Smith goes elsewhere and finds success in another NFL city. In that case, people are going to be wondering what the Chiefs got wrong and why they felt the need to get rid of Smith and replace him with someone they had to actually trade draft capital for, as minimal as it may be.