KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Three days from now, the cruelest on the NFL calendar arrives.
After investing blood, sweat and tears for months, 40% of players currently on NFL rosters will get cut.
“The sad part about the NFL is that it's a revolving door,” Chiefs tight end Robert Tonyan said. “... Some people are here for a week; some people are here for 13 years. But it is tough, because you get so close to these guys, especially in St Joe. There's nothing to do but hang out playing cards or joking around with the guys.”
Now, dozens of those guys may be gone.
“I would assume most people are nervous,” Chiefs backup center Hunter Nourzad said. “Of course, there's a little nerves that go on.”
The NFL deadline to trim 90-man preseason rosters to 53-man regular-season rosters arrives at 3 p.m. Central time on Tuesday.
A handful of players who are cut will return to the practice squad after the initial blood-letting, but it’s a cutthroat time in a cutthroat business.
“Everybody understands the reality of the game,” Nourzad said. “Everybody at every second of the day is just doing everything in their power to make a good impression on the field, no matter what. If you come in with an understanding of the reality of the game, there's not really any weird energy or anything going on like that.”
It will be a new experience for Chiefs linebacker Jeffrey Bassa, a rookie fifth-round pick from Oregon.
“No nervousness when it comes to that,” Bassa said. “... The next few days, I’m getting my body right, staying in the treatment room, making sure I'm staying in the film room as well, cleaning up little things where it comes to just my eye discipline and learning from the other vets and the other guys.”
Bassa plans to stay all about his business, because there’s really no alternative. But some teammates, even those who seem locked into roster spots for Kansas City, won’t relax until the rosters are made official.
“Handling it? I mean, I've done everything I can that's in my control up to this point, so I’m just kind of going with the flow,” Nourzad said. “... I feel confident, but the reality of my personality is that I'm going to be a little nervous no matter what. That's just the truth of it.”
Tonyan, who joined the Chiefs late last season via the practice squad, is in his ninth preseason, so he’s ready for whatever comes.
“I'm confident in what I have done and who I am,” he said. “I'm finally in a healthy spot — body-wise, mind-wise, soul-wise. Credit to these guys here, (they) just gave me a really fair opportunity to go out and show my stuff and in an offense that favors a tight end like myself. So, I just kind of went out and was myself, and it worked out. I'm happy to be here.”
He added, “I had one of my better camps. I'm healthy, I'm confident where I'm at. That's not my decision, but I put my right foot forward and, yeah, we'll see.”
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