The Kansas City Chiefs are about to make the kind of cuts that hit every NFL locker room this time of year, and for a few players on the bubble, the math already looks brutal. With rosters trimming from 90 to 53 across the league, general manager Brett Veach has more than 30 decisions to make, and some of those calls are far easier to forecast than others.
A handful of players have drifted so far down the depth chart that their path to the roster looks almost nonexistent.
At tight end, Mason Pline appears to be running out of room. Kansas City has stayed relatively healthy at the position this summer, and that has kept the group crowded with familiar names.
Travis Kelce and Noah Gray are locked in as the top two, while the fight for TE3 is murky enough that Pline doesn’t really belong in it. Jared Wiley and even last year’s undrafted additions Jake Briningstool and Tre Watson seem to have the edge.
Pline, a former tryout signing, played sparingly in the preseason opener, and his best shot may be a practice squad opening if the Chiefs decide they like him enough.
Jeff Weimer’s case is a little different, but the result may be the same. He was brought in as emergency depth at receiver when players like Cyrus Allen and Xavier Worthy were banged up early in camp, so he’s already outlasted the role he was asked to fill.
That alone counts for something. Still, now that the room has gotten healthier, it’s difficult to picture Weimer hanging on much longer, even if the Chiefs are still sorting through other receivers in his tier, from Xavier Loyd to Omari Evans.
Damon Payne also looks like a long shot. Even if Kansas City liked him more than it appears to, the numbers are working hard against him.
He logged just four snaps in the preseason opener, well behind other defensive tackles such as Marcus Harris, Amari McNeill and even Cole Brevard. With the Chiefs deeper at defensive tackle than they’ve been in a decade, the Michigan product seems positioned to be one of the first names out the door.
Chris Oladokun’s situation is simpler. He could remain on as a scout team quarterback for another season, but the Chiefs have other developmental options now, including Garrett Nussmeier behind Patrick Mahomes and Justin Fields in the QB2 spot. Oladokun has never survived the late-summer roster cuts, and there’s little reason to expect that streak to change.
Then there’s Kaiir Elam, whose offseason buzz has given way to a quiet summer. The former Bills first-round corner drew plenty of attention in the spring after joining the roster, but that energy hasn’t carried over into minicamp, training camp or the first two preseason games. With so many other newcomers making their case, it’s hard to see Kansas City keeping Elam on the active roster.
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