For once, the Chiefs have a real edge to work with as the roster cut deadline approaches.
After years of living near the bottom of the waiver order, Kansas City is sitting at No. 8 heading into the league-wide trim from 90-man offseason rosters to the 53-man groups that mark the start of the regular season. That’s a notable change for a team that has usually been stuck around No. 32, and it gives the Chiefs a better shot at landing players other teams can’t keep.
That matters this time of year because NFL clubs have to cut more than 30 players by Sunday, August 30. Roughly 1,200 players will be looking for work, at least temporarily. Veterans are handled differently, but younger players are subject to waivers, which means teams can claim them based on where they sit in the order.
For Kansas City, that opens the door to snagging some interesting players who get squeezed out by deeper rosters elsewhere around the league. It’s the kind of opportunity the Chiefs haven’t had much of in recent years, but this summer’s waiver wire could actually be a useful tool.
Assistant general manager Mike Bradway talked about that on Wednesday in St. Joseph, and he made it clear the Chiefs aren’t changing how they do business just because they’ve climbed higher in the order.
"I don't think it's going to change the process itself, so to speak, I think we're still going to go about it the way we do in terms of watching as many bubble guys as we can, talking to teams, getting as much information as we can," said Bradway.
He also pointed out the obvious upside of the new position.
"Obviously, it increases the likelihood we can potentially get a guy, so we've got to be ready for if we put in claims for two or three guys. We've got to be prepared to obviously get those guys, but like I said, I think we're going to 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"
The Chiefs are still trying to recover from a 6-11 season, but the roster has also been thinned out by years of drafting near the end of every round. That makes it easy to see why Kansas City might be willing to churn the back end of the roster and chase players with more upside in hopes of lifting the floor.
The waiver order stays in place through Week 3 of the regular season before resetting to the current standings.
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