The Kansas City Chiefs are drawing closer to the 2025 season, and that means some tough decisions will have to be made. The process of trimming a 90-man roster to 53 players is always a difficult one, and it could mean that players who aren’t even participating in training camp could sneak their way to Kansas City in the coming weeks.
Unfortunately, it also means an early exit for some veterans. A former fourth-round pick by the Chiefs has done his best to carve out a niche role in Kansas City. But his time could be coming to an end as he potentially enters his final preseason with the team.
Chiefs CB Joshua Williams Has Three Weeks to Save His Job
The Chiefs took Joshua Williams in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, and while he’s become a Day 3 success story, his days may be numbered as he enters the preseason. Williams is currently listed as a third-string cornerback as the preseason opener with the Arizona Cardinals approaches, and he’ll need a strong performance over the next three weeks to save his job.
Williams has put up solid numbers over his first three seasons, logging 91 total tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack, and six pass defenses over 50 games. While Pro Football Focus has also been complimentary of his play, giving him overall grades of 63.0, 74.4, and 64.3, he’s spent most of his time contributing to special teams with 921 total snaps.
This was a strength at the beginning of Williams’s career, as he logged a 68.4 grade on 256 special teams snaps in 2022. But that number declined to 65.8 in 2023 and 61.0 last season. Williams has also developed a knack for committing penalties, with three calls (one declined) going against him in 2023 and five calls in 2024. By comparison, only Kris Boyd of the Houston Texans (seven) and C.J. Goodwin (six) of the Dallas Cowboys had more special teams penalties last season.
The Chiefs struggled at cornerback in general last season, which is why they signed Kristian Fulton this offseason. But even with Fulton recovering from a knee injury, Williams is still behind Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Nazeeh Johnson, Kevin Knowles, and third-round pick Nohl Williams for a roster spot.
The math doesn’t add up for Williams to claim a roster spot, and he could be on his way out of Kansas City by the end of the preseason.