Kansas City Chiefs 53-Man Roster Projection: Much remains unsettled for Brett Veach prior to preseason Week 1 vs. Arizona Cardinals

Charles Goldman’s latest 53-man roster projection for the Kansas City Chiefs ahead of their preseason Week 1 tilt with the Arizona Cardinals.

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor
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The Kansas City Chiefs are less than a week away from their first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.

They’ve completed 11 training camp practices and have three more to go this week ahead of preseason Week 1 in Glendale, Arizona. We’ve learned quite a bit about the 90-man offseason roster over the past two weeks, including its strengths and weaknesses. How will the rest of training camp and the upcoming preseason games shape the 16-man practice squad and 53-man roster?

What will things look like after roster cuts and ahead of their Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Chargers in September? Check to see the latest A to Z Sports projections below. You can find our last 53-man roster projection here.

Note: Players with a single asterisk (*) are 2025 draft picks. Players with double asterisks (**) are 2025 undrafted free agents. Players in italics are practice squad candidates.

Quarterback (3)

On the 53-man roster: Patrick Mahomes, Gardner Minshew, & Bailey Zappe
Cut: Chris Oladokun

I’ve mentioned before that I felt the Chiefs may revert to Andy Reid’s old ways of carrying three quarterbacks. After 11 training camp practices, I feel validated in those thoughts. Zappe has been the better of the Chiefs’ three backup quarterbacks, impressing over Minshew in multiple practice sessions. While this hasn’t resulted in second-team opportunities for Zappe, I think the preseason is where he can truly separate himself and force Kansas City’s hand. Remember, the Chiefs kept Zappe on the practice squad last year, but he got poached by the Cleveland Browns. That could play a role in the team’s decision to carry three quarterbacks as well.

Running back (4)

On the 53-man roster: Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, Elijah Mitchell, & Brashard Smith*
Cut: Elijah Young**, Carson Steele

I could see the Chiefs only keeping three running backs and going heavier at another position. However, it feels like the four running backs I kept here each have pretty defined roles in the offense. Pacheco is your early-down, north-south, inside-zone running back. Hunt is short-yardage, and the best player they have at pass protection. Mitchell is your outside zone, east-west running back. Smith is your gadget-receiving back.

Tight end (3)

On the 53-man roster: Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, & Jared Wiley
Cut: Tre Watson**, Robert Tonyan, Georquarius Spivey
IR: Jake Briningstool**

Three tight ends are admittedly light for the Chiefs in a given year, but with Wiley further along in his recovery from the knee injury, this makes most sense to me. The second-year tight end out of TCU has been working in as an in-line blocker and doing well with that role during training camp despite a little bit of swelling in his injured knee. The more time Briningstool misses with injury at camp, the more likely I see him as the mystery IR-stash player of 2025. Tre Watson has been getting an increasing amount of work since returning from the Active/PUP list, but I am hesitant to put him on the roster. Robert Tonyan, as a vested veteran with a non-guaranteed salary, could be released initially for the team to make some procedural moves, only to be re-signed later.

Wide receiver (6)

On the 53-man roster: Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Xavier Worthy, Jalen Royals*, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Nikko Remigio, & Tyquan Thornton
Cut: Skyy Moore, Elijhah Badger**, Mac Dalena**, Jimmy Holliday, Jason Brownlee, Key’Shawn Smith**
Reserve/Suspended: Rashee Rice

My projections for this group haven’t changed since our last 53-man roster projection. Expectations are that Rashee Rice won’t be available to start the 2025 NFL season. Combine that with Hollywood Brown’s recent ankle injury, and I expect the team to keep six receivers to start the year. I think it’s possible that they still keep seven players at the position once Rice is free to return. Remigio gets the No. 5 spot as the team’s top return specialist on both punts and kicks. Thornton makes a lot of sense as a gunner and depth behind guys like Brown and Worthy.

Offensive line (10)

On the 53-man roster: Josh Simmons*, Kingsley Suamataia, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Jawaan Taylor, Jaylon Moore, Hunter Nourzad, Wanya Morris, Esa Pole**, and Mike Caliendo
Cut: Ethan Driskell, Joey Lombard**, C.J. Hanson, Chu Godrick, Dalton Cooper**

I am tempted to go light on the O-Line, knowing that Moore and Nourzad have quite a bit of positional flexibility. However, after last season, I don’t think there’s any way this team carries fewer than 10 offensive linemen. The big question that I still have after 11 training camp practices is whether or not Hanson has shown enough improvement from Year 1 to Year 2 to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Pole seems to have gained some ground on Driskell, but the preseason could be the deciding factor for who wins out between those two players.

Defensive line (9)

On the 53-man roster: George Karlaftis, Charles Omenihu, Mike Danna, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Ashton Gillotte*, Omarr Norman-Lott*, Chris Jones, Jerry Tillery, and Mike Pennel
Cut: Fabien Lovett, Malik Herring, Marlon Tuipulotu, Janarius Robinson, Coziah Izzard**
NFI: BJ Thompson

I’m even more convinced that the Chiefs run with just nine defensive linemen this season after reports of Mike Danna (who has been described as the strongest player on the team) kicking inside in goal-line situations. Norman-Lott will contribute more on run-stopping downs than people care to realize, and Pennel is looking as good as he ever has in Kansas City. Tillery and Omenihu also offer some inside-outside versatility.

Linebacker (6)

On the 53-man roster: Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, Leo Chenal, Jack Cochrane, Jeffrey Bassa* & Cooper McDonald**
Cut: Cam Jones, Cole Christiansen, Brandon George**

I know that Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo and STC Dave Toub would prefer to go heavier at the linebacker position and keep six linebackers as they usually do. The combination of Bolton, Tranquill, Chenal, Cochrane, Bassa, and McDonald gives the team the perfect amount of versatility and depth across all three linebacker positions. Cochrane, Bassa, and McDonald can all be multi-phase special teams players for Coach Toub.

Cornerback (5)

On the 53-man roster: Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Nazeeh Johnson, Nohl Williams*, & Kevin Knowles**
Cut: Joshua Williams, Jacobe Covington**, Melvin Smith**,  Chris Roland-Wallace, Azizi Hearn, Ajani Carter
Reserve/PUP: Kristian Fulton

Even with news that Fulton has resumed running, I still believe he will start the 2025 NFL season on the Reserve/PUP list as he recovers from a knee injury. It makes no sense to rush him back. My big change here is swapping out Chris Roland-Wallace for UDFA CB Kevin Knowles. The rookie recently began taking snaps at nickel cornerback with the second-team defense in place of Roland-Wallace, and I’ve heard good things about his special teams coverage ability, too. It feels like he could be a hidden gem that gives the Chiefs the depth they’ve been searching for at the nickel corner spot and on special teams. The truth is that this is probably the most unsettled position group on the Chiefs’ roster with few players outside of McDuffie, Watson, Fulton, and N. Williams guaranteed a part in it.

Safety (4)

On the 53-man roster: Bryan Cook, Jaden Hicks, Mike Edwards, & Chamarri Conner
Cut: Deon Bush, Major Williams**, Glendon Miller**

The only thing that has changed about this group in my eyes is the reports out of training camp that Jaden Hicks has been taking snaps in the slot with a greater frequency. If he becomes their best option at the nickel spot, Mike Edwards could get some run alongside Bryan Cook with the rest of the first-team defense. I think that might help the team field their best possible secondary and help keep Trent McDuffie outside on certain downs.

Special teams (3)

On the 53-man roster: K Harrison Butker, P Matt Araiza, & LS James Winchester

Eddie Czaplicki already lost the battle with Matt Araiza, but that was more due to roster needs at other positions after injuries struck than anything else. I’m not convinced that Araiza is a long-term solution in Kansas City, but I have heard that he’s got a bit more touch on his punts this year. We’ll see if it translates on gameday.

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