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Who will make the Kansas City Chiefs’ initial 53-man roster for the 2026 season? We’ll find out this weekend.
The NFL deadline for teams to trim rosters to 53 ahead of the 2026 regular season arrives at 5 p.m. Central on Sunday.
“This is the hardest time of the year for coaches — and personnel guys and players, for that matter — because you’ve got to make these cuts coming up,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “These guys busted their tail through hot, humid weather at training camp, and sleeping in a dorm for you, and then coming out playing in these preseason games.”
But league rules dictate that 37 must be trimmed from the roster with up to 17 spots on the practice squad, which will be assembled after the waiver process plays out early next week.
Every team in the league goes through the same thing, so one advantage to last season’s struggles will be a higher waiver priority and a deeper pool of players to potentially add.
“It’s just a matter of stacking our board like we do during the draft process and targeting positions of need and exchanging dialogues with other teams and trying to get our roster better,” Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said. “We have a lot of talent on both sides, but it certainly isn’t a finished product. There are areas that we can improve and we will continue to do that throughout the season.”
Here’s my 53-man roster projection based on the current players in camp:
OFFENSE (26)
Offensive tackle is a thorny issue as the season approaches.
Left tackle Josh Simmons, who was limited to eight games as a rookie last season, missed the final two preseason games with what the Chiefs described as a back injury.
“It's going to take a little bit of time here, but he's a hard worker when it comes to these types of things,” Reid said. “... It’s just a matter of eliminating some of the pain that he has and strength, making sure he has enough strength.”
That leaves Jaylon Moore and undrafted rookie Khalil Benson as the best tackles on the roster, but neither is an ideal fit at left tackle.
Benson started there against Seattle in the final preseason game, but a healthy Simmons is viewed as key to Chiefs’ hopes for a bounceback after last year’s struggles.
Kansas City has some tough decisions to make — Do they keep two or three quarterbacks? Is there room for four tight ends? What about seven receivers? — but a healthy Mahomes is the most important ingredient.
QUARTERBACKS (3)
Locks (2): Patrick Mahomes, Justin Fields
Makes the cut (1): Garrett Nussmeier
Misses the cut (1): Chris Oladokun
Analysis: It’s a tougher decision than it appears on the surface.
Kansas City hasn’t kept three quarterbacks on the roster to start a season since 2022, when Chad Henne and Shane Beuchele joined on the initial 53-man list.
It was a regular occurrence early in Reid’s tenure with the Chiefs, but four years ago is the only time the team kept three QBs to start the season since Mahomes’ rookie season in 2017.
Could it happen again? Nussmeier may be good enough for that.
He’s looked like a rookie during the preseason, but a promising one.
Nussmeier may wind up on the practice squad at some point, but Kansas City may not want to risk exposing him to waivers yet.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9)
Locks (8): Josh Simmons, Kingsley Suamataia, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Jaylon Moore, Khalil Benson, Esa Pole, Josh Ezedu
Makes the cut (1): Mike Caliendo
Misses the cut (5): Pete Nygra, Hunter Nourzad, Ethan Driskell, CJ Hanson, Josh Thompson
International Pathway Program (1): Chukwuebuka Godrick
Analysis: There’s not much mystery here. The starting five are set and the Chiefs certainly want to hang onto their two promising young tackles, Benson and Pole. Ezedu is a recent trade acquisition from the New York Giants, so his spot seems safe.
The glaring missing piece there is a backup center, though Creed Humphrey may be the most irreplaceable player on the offense behind Mahomes.
Nourzad is officially listed as the backup behind Humphrey, but Caliendo has played there in the past, offers more positional versatility and has been stronger in the preseason.
But the offensive line depth is ripe for a refresh if the right candidate is available on the waiver wire.
RUNNING BACKS (4)
Locks (3): Kennth Walker III, Emari Demercado, Emmett Johnson, Brashard Smith
Makes the cut (0)
Misses the cut (2): Jadyn Ott, EJ Smith
Analysis: I wrestled with whether to list Brashard Smith as a lock or merely under “makes the cut,” but I just feel like he’s safe.
Walker, Demercado and Johnson are obvious locks and Smith has shown enough to earn a spot, too.
A big reason Walker signed with Kansas City was the chance for an expanded role, and he’ll clearly be the leader in the backfield. But Johnson, in particular, has demonstrated that he deserves some touches as well.
The Chiefs’ backfield is the most improved unit on the offense by miles.
WIDE RECEIVERS (6)
Locks (4): Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Tyquan Thornton, Cyrus Allen
Makes the cut (2): Jalen Royals, Nikko Remigio
Misses the cut (7): Andrew Armstrong, Jimmy Holiday, Xavier Loyd, Jeff Weimer, Jacob De Jesus, Jason Brownlee, Omari Evans
Analysis: The Chiefs didn’t seriously audition anyone else for Remigio’s return specialist role, and the first five receivers seem pretty well set in stone.
It’s a tough break for Armstrong, who the Chiefs will hope to bring back on the practice squad in this scenario, but the 53-man roster is a numbers game and he lands on the wrong side of the cut line.
TIGHT ENDS (4)
Locks (3): Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Jared Wiley
Makes the cut (1): Jake Briningstool
Misses the cut (2): Tre Watson, Mason Pine
Analysis: I’m going strictly based off the depth chart in parsing Wiley as a lock and Brinigstool as safe. I don’t think it’s guaranteed the Chiefs keep all four players, but I’d be stunned if that isn’t the case.
The Chiefs have questions at tackle — lots of questions at tackle — and Mahomes is coming off a serious knee injury.
Layer in the expectation Kansas City will seek more balance with a beefed-up run game and four tight ends seem more necessity than luxury given Kelce’s age and the injury histories of Gray, Wiley and Briningstool.
It’s a tough position and the Chiefs will ask a lot of it this season, but all four can block and make plays in the passing game.
DEFENSE (24)
Second-year rookie Omarr Norman-Lott, who suffered a torn ACL midseason a year ago, is expected back to bolster the interior defensive-line rotation at some point, but he’ll probably start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He won’t count against the 53-man roster.
Norman-Lott’s absence allows Marcus Harris the chance to establish himself and creates a spot for Tyreke Smith, who has the versatility to reduce inside. That gives Smith the nod over Amari McNeill for the last defensive-line spot.
Changes in recent years to practice-squad eligibility create a path for the Chiefs to keep veterans like Emmanuel Ogbah and Cam Jones around, if they want veteran depth but not on the initial 53-man roster.
DEFENSIVE ENDS (5)
Locks (4): George Karlaftis, Ashton Gillotte, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, R Mason Thomas
Makes the cut (1): Tyreke Smith
Misses the cut (4): VJ Anthony, Ethan Hurkett, Emmanuel Ogbah, Niles King
Analysis: The two-deep rotation seems pretty well-established and each performed well in camp.
Gillotte’s foot injury isn’t ideal, but it’s not panic time either with more than two weeks before the season opener.
If Karlaftis can rebound from a down year due to injury and the trio of Gillotte, Anudike-Uzomah and Thomas grow into serviceable pass rushers capable of setting an edge against the run, Kansas City’s most-glaring weakness on defense last season — sacking the quarterback — could become a strength again.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES (4)
Locks (3): Khyris Tonga, Chris Jones, Peter Woods
Makes the cut (1): Marcus Harris
Misses the cut (3): Cole Brevard, Damon Payne, Amari McNeill
Physically Unable to Perform (1): Omarr Norman-Lott
Analysis: Some roster churn here might occur if the right players land on waivers in the coming days, but Jones, Tonga and Woods are safe.
There’s been lots of preseason hype around Woods, but I think he may struggle to adjust to the NFL more than Thomas on the edge. It’s just a different world in the middle of the trenches.
Depth on the defensive interior is a concern unless and until Norman-Lott returns and proves he’s healthy. Even then, coming off a torn ACL, he’ll need time to reacclimate, so reinforcements may be inevitable.
LINEBACKERS (5)
Locks (4): Drue Tranquill, Nick Bolton, Cooper McDonald, Jeffrey Bassa
Makes the cut (1): Jack Cochrane
Misses the cut (4): Cam Jones, Cole Christiansen, Kam Arnold, Wesley Bissainthe
Analysis: McDonald inherits the Leo Chenal role, which are sneaky big shoes to fill.
Tranquill and Bolton are known quantities and serviceable NFL players, but both are better coming downhill and attacking, so Bassa needs to take on a bigger role and show he can be an asset in pass coverage.
Cochrane provides depth and has defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s trust, while Jones and Christiansen or Arnold probably return on the practice squad.
CORNERBACKS (6)
Locks (3): L’Jarius Sneed, Nohl Williams, Mansoor Delane, Kristian Fulton
Makes the cut (3): Kevin Knowles, Jadon Canady
Misses the cut (5): Kader Kohou, Melvin Smith, Kaiir Elam, D’Arco Perkins-McAllister, Zelmar Vedder
Analysis: Man, it’s striking how young or new to the locker room the secondary is.
Sneed and Delane missed time in camp with injuries and Fulton struggled to get, then stay on the field last season.
Knowles sticks around for his special-teams value and Canady because of the draft-pick investment, but there’s some quality being cut that the Chiefs will hope to add to the practice squad as insurance.
SAFETIES (4)
Locks (4): Alohi Gilman, Chamarri Conner, Chris Roland-Wallace, Jaden Hicks
Makes the cut (0)
Misses the cut (3): Xavier Nwankpa, DeShon Singleton, Tanner McCalister
Analysis: Nwankpa got some run with the first team during preseason, but that was largely because Gilman and Conner missed time with injuries.
He and Singleton profile as strong practice-squad candidates, but the safety rotation seems pretty well locked in.
If the veterans are healthy and Hicks’ preseason emergence wasn’t a mirage, they’ll be fine on the back end.
SPECIALISTS (3)
Locks: P Matt Araiza, K Harrison Butker, LS James Winchester
Analysis: Nothing to see here.
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