Biggest surprises from Chiefs' 53-man roster cuts

The Kansas City Chiefs have officially assembled their first iteration of the 53-man roster. Things will almost certainly change in the coming days, but there were still a few things that caught fans off guard on Tuesday. Whether it's cuts or trade acquisitions, there were a few big surprises on the day. Below are four of […]

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor

Aug 29, 2023 6:16 PM EDT

The Kansas City Chiefs have officially assembled their first iteration of the 53-man roster.

Things will almost certainly change in the coming days, but there were still a few things that caught fans off guard on Tuesday. Whether it's cuts or trade acquisitions, there were a few big surprises on the day.

Below are four of those surprises that stood out to me during roster cuts:

Darian Kinnard cut

Kinnard barely made the 53-man roster last season. Brett Veach even said that he played his way onto the roster that year. This year, he didn't manage the same. It's a disappointing end for the 2022 fifth-round draft pick. Sure, he could return to the practice squad, but with how needy the NFL is for offensive line talent, he's likely to wind up as a waiver claim.

Does it say something about Nick Allegretti's shoulder injury that Mike Caliendo also made the 53-man roster? Caliendo has more positional flexibility than Kinnard, who was shoehorned into the right guard position after failing at tackle a season ago.

Veach is sure to catch some criticism for this one. He traded back in the 2022 NFL draft, acquiring the picks that were used on both Kinnard and Skyy Moore. Had the Chiefs stayed at their original spot, they would have had a shot at drafting Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens.

Defensive tackle trade

We knew that the Chiefs were likely in the market for a defensive tackle given their depth issues and the Chris Jones holdout (which just intensified today). But to see Kansas City make a trade within their own division to help fix that problem? That was quite surprising.

Neil Farrell Jr. doesn't exactly look like a replacement for Jones, but rather depth alongside guys like Derrick Nnadi and Keondre Coburn. He's more of a big, run-stuffing type than a penetrating, pressure-creating three-technique.

The move suggests that the Chiefs might opt to use those defensive end types inside on pass-rushing downs and rotate their bigs with greater frequency.

Six linebackers?

Is Leo Chenal's injury worse than Andy Reid let on or did Cam Jones just play that well in the preseason? I tend to think it might be a little bit of both. Maybe Chenal is going to require a short-term IR stay. Jones making this 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent is certainly impressive either way.

La'Mical Perine

I had figured that Perine had made his case for a roster spot and solidified it in the preseason finale, but I was wrong. I have a feeling this has more to do with the NFL's stance on running backs than it does with Perine's performance. The likelihood that Perine or Deneric Prince are claimed is very slim, and even if they are, the league has shown us time and again that these guys are replaceable.