The Kansas City Chiefs are just 12 days away from the NFL’s 53-man roster cuts, and the front office is making it clear that the team is far from done building its roster.

Assistant general managers Mike Bradway and Chris Shea addressed reporters after Day 17 of training camp. They spoke on everything from contract extensions to salary cap space to potential roster additions ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

The message was unmistakable: Kansas City still believes it has work to do to improve the roster.

Better waiver priority will not change the Kansas City Chiefs’ approach

After finishing the 2025 season with a 6-11 record, the Chiefs hold the best waiver priority they’ve had in years. Kansas City will sit 8th in the waiver claim order, a dramatic shift from the back-of-the-line positioning the team grew accustomed to during its championship run.

For Bradway, the higher priority won’t change the team’s process. They’ll maintain the same evaluation work they’ve always done. What does change is that their expectations have to be different. In years past, Kansas City might have put in multiple waiver claims, expecting none of the players to make it through by the time the team reached the 31st or 32nd priority on waivers. With the 8th spot in line, it’s possible they could land every player they put in a claim for.

“Yeah, I don’t. I don’t think it’s going to change the process itself, so to speak,” Bradway said. “I think we’re still going to go about it the way we do in terms of watching as many bubble guys we can, talking to teams, getting as much information as we can. Obviously, it increases the likelihood we potentially get a guy, so we’ve got to be ready for, you know, if we put in claims for two or three guys, we’ve got to be prepared to obviously get those guys. But as I said, I think we’re gonna, you know, attack it and watch the whole league basically have a ton of calls and trade surplus. So I think the process will stay the same.”

At the same time, the Chiefs don’t want to repeat past mistakes

The reality of making moves around roster cuts is that it demands more deliberate decision-making. Bradway indicated the team will deliberate following the final preseason game to determine the best route forward on the players they’ve evaluated.

Roster cuts take place on Monday, Aug. 31, and the front office is looking for buy-in from both the personnel and coaching sides. The last thing they want is to burn valuable assets and acquire a player who doesn’t play. Think a Josh Uche situation.

“Once we get kind of that final preseason game, and we have all the information from teams, guys that might be available, what it might take to get them,” Bradway said. “I think you balance out: is it worth giving up a future pick for a guy? You know, you’ve got to listen. You’ve got to be sure that that guy’s going to come in and have a role, so you’re not just, you know, wasting assets. So there’s got to be buy-in from the personnel side, and obviously the coaches: are they going to use them? Whether it’s offense, defense, special teams, and then there could be an opportunity for a player-for-player type move. So, we are certainly open for business, open for anything.”

Salary cap flexibility gives Kansas City room to maneuver

Chris Shea handles the financial side of the evaluation process, working exclusively with the salary cap and contracts for the Chiefs. As things currently stand, Kansas City is projected to have just under $4 million in salary cap space. This comes after the deal for Emmanuel Ogbah and before 53-man roster cuts. The top-51 rule will no longer apply after those cuts, which will shift the numbers. However, the team feels comfortable and confident with where it currently stands. Shea has built-in flexibility to create cap space as needed.

“We feel good about where we’re at,” Shea said. “Obviously, the rules change a little bit when the season starts. Certain things come onto the cap that aren’t there now. We have a plan to create ample space for us to operate with those changes and create some flexibility. You know we have lots of avenues to create more flexibility and more cap space. We may take advantage of some or all in the next few weeks, but we certainly have the ability and likely will create some cap space to get us into the regular season.”

They’ll be prepared for moves both big and small

Shea was also asked how often Kansas City is ever surprised by a personnel decision from another team. Does the front office have contingencies if a specific player becomes available via free agency or trade? It all comes down to having the flexibility to make moves that will improve the team. That’s something that Shea feels they do a good job of, within certain constraints.

“Having done this for a long time, I think more than you’d think,” Shea said. “So retaining flexibility to entertain the unforeseen is an important part of how we try to structure our cap management philosophy. We really want to present Coach (Andy Reid) and Brett (Veach) with the flexibility to entertain smart roster moves that are independent of cap constraints that we may have. We certainly have some of them, but we don’t have a perfect crystal ball, none of us in the front office. And opportunities present themselves that are unforeseen. So, yeah, we plan to be flexible. There are limits to that, given that we have a lot of good players under contract. But we try to present Brett and Coach with opportunities through our cap management.”

Chiefs aren’t shying away from roster improvement

Heading into the 2026 NFL season, the Chiefs don’t seem to shy away from the fact that they have options to improve their team. Between the improved waiver priority, available cap space, and the willingness to explore trades, Kansas City’s front office has positioned itself to be active over the next two weeks. Both Bradway and Shea made it clear that we are open for business, and the team intends to build the best possible roster as the team looks to get back into contention.