Chiefs reporter has bad news for bubble player trying to make the team
There's still a long way to go until the Kansas City Chiefs produce their initial 53-man roster for the 2023 season, but at the same time, there are positions that already seem to be carved out as we cycle through the dead period before training camp. Whether it's because multiple incumbents return from the year […]
There's still a long way to go until the Kansas City Chiefs produce their initial 53-man roster for the 2023 season, but at the same time, there are positions that already seem to be carved out as we cycle through the dead period before training camp.
Whether it's because multiple incumbents return from the year before or a makeover through free agency/the draft, some groups are set unless something wild happens. In a good, or bad, way.
Take the Chiefs tight end room, for instance. The quartet of Travis Kelce, Jody Fortson, Noah Gray and Blake Bell are pretty much locked in. The same goes for the cornerback group, which has its top-5 five options already set in L'Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson and Nazeeh Johnson.
And because of that, The Athletic's Nate Taylor has recent free agent pickup, Lamar Jackson, missing out on making the 53-man roster. The Chiefs signed Jackson to a one-year deal back in May.
Taylor recently put out his post-OTAs/minicamp 53-man roster projection and unfortunately, he predicts the third-year player will become a victim of both a crowded cornerback room and a versatile safety room.
The versatility of the aforementioned Johnson -who can also play safety on top of corner- and safety Mike Edwards -who can play nickel when needed- really creates an interesting situation for the Chiefs secondary. We all know how defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo loves to use different looks and move people around in the defensive backfield, so it makes total sense he'd take complete advantage of the versatility both rooms currently provide.
And unfortunately, that doesn't bode well for Jackson. He's going to need a very good training camp/preseason or else he's going to be looking for a new home at the end of August.
You can check out Taylor's full 53-man prediction, here.
Featured image via Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
