The roster cutdowns have ALREADY begun for the Chiefs…

The return of Juju so the Chiefs not only added an intriguing veteran wide receiver today this makes the wide receiver room even more complex for cut down day but they also waved 13 players as the team begins to get the roster from 91 if you count International player Jason godrick all the way down to 53 before the end of day tomorrow then at least one of the players wave today was a bit of a surprise so I've got to talk about that and much more but first how about those all right first up is uh most of you know by now the chief surprisingly signed wide receiver Juju Smith Schuster to a one-year deal this morning and I say surprisingly because this is largely a time where cuts are made as a team Narrows down from 90 players on the roster to 53 but while some moves or additions can happen around this time normally it's via a trade or a waiver claim after cutdowns however Casey Ops instead to sign a veteran free agent in Juju Smith Schuster that was just released by the Patriots on August 19 and trust me more moves are coming tomorrow's cut down day A lot's going to happen players still could be traded there's a lot to talk about here but I will say when guj gu was initially released back on August 9th I was all for the team bringing him in to at least look at him look at his body his knees how is he holding up physically because if he appeared healthy enough there's multiple benefits to having Juju Smith Shuster back and before I get to what those benefits are I did want to quickly point out that the chief signed ju gu to a one-year veteran minimum deal he had roughly 7 million fully guaranteed from his deal with the Patriots so the Chiefs get him for roughly $ 1.1 million this year that's a steal for somebody of his caliber to be clear though Juju is not the same player he was in 2022 I get it but I don't think anybody here in Chief's kingdom is expecting him to have the numbers that he had a couple years ago we'll get to that here in a bit but JuJu's return does have its positives it also comes with some questions uh because this now makes the depth guys Juju’s added insurance fing to make the 53-man roster much less likely to make it in the wide receiver room uh the way I see things right now the definite five locks so far are Xavier worthy rashy rice Hollywood Brown Justin Watson and JuJu Smith Schuster I do not believe the Chiefs would sign gu gu a day before cutdowns if he wasn't a lock so that now leaves one or maybe two wide receiver spots open for Sky Moore niik rigio micle Hardman Justin Ross and cadarius Tony I'll share the two I think that are most likely to make it here in a moment but before I do here are a few benefits that Juju Smith Schuster brings to the Chiefs wide receiver room back in 2022 he largely feasted in the middle of the field offsetting Travis Kelce and while his 2023 season was very lackluster due to an ankle injury and an abysmal offense I mean New England was an absolute train wreck he had a thousand yards in 2022 while in Kansas City being the chief's leading receiver outside of just Travis Kelce as far as production was concerned on top of that Juju was sixth in the NFL with 232 receiving yards after contact that year so you get a physical bodied receiver that doesn't have to play a big role on offense in theory this will help JuJu's body hold up all season long he can feast in the middle of the field which means Rashi Rice Insurance in case of a suspension though I really don't think a rice suspension is happening this year it also means that gu guu is a bit of Hollywood Brown Insurance as well he's not the same type of receiver don't get me wrong but Casey was definitely going to be using Hollywood in the middle of the field so guju can help with that until Hollywood Brown returns and even if God forbid Hollywood deals with more injuries along the way this season gu guu should also be able to integrate pretty quickly into the offense considering he was just on the team the season before last then if needs be especially once Hollywood returns Casey could also have guju fill in for Travis Kelce from time to time having him line up opposite rice and run routes in the middle of the field this would also allow Kelsey some rest if needs be in these games uh he will still probably play like 90% of the snaps but he's 35 years old and while he's historically been pretty healthy he did deal with injuries last season multiple injuries to be exact so if you can help preserve Kelsey for the postseason run that is also a win ju guu is also very QB friendly against Zone coverage is a solid Blocker in the Run game he's 61 216 lbs and brings plenty of Veteran experience into the room now it seems like like the team obviously was in favor of bringing Juju back because voila he's back and he impressed enough to pass his physical for the team to take a chance on him via a vetman deal but Jason Anderson of sports radio 810 had something interesting to share regarding the guju return he was told that offensive coordinator Matt naggie wanted gu gu as soon as he was released on August 9th this isn't specifically connected to a potential upcoming rice suspension but naggie simply had a big say in bringing juj gu back to the Chiefs that also means that Patrick Mahomes also probably wanted him back they built such a great connection in JuJu's one season here so why not have a guy you can trust return come back to the fold rather than taking potential what if chances on Sky Moore taking a leap this year or even cadarius Tony for that matter and speaking of the bubble Bubble WR's in trouble? guys with the five perceived to be locks now being Xavier worthy rashy rice Hollywood Brown Justin Watson and now Juju Smith Schuster that leaves or two spots open unless Hollywood Brown starts the season on the pup list I would think the Chiefs would much prefer not to do that because if they do that means Hollywood can't return until after week four and history has shown that he should in theory be back around week two or week three if you compare his timeline to return to other receivers that have had this injury prior so that leaves four guys or so fighting for the last spot maybe two if the Chiefs roll with just six receivers I have sky more actually being the sixth guy uh he's got two years left on his rookie deal and basically played two snaps on special teams in the last preseason game while Justin Ross cadarius Tony and mle Hardman played a bunch of offensive snaps Sky could in theory be a surprise trade candidate and that's really the only way I see him not making the 53 man roster at this point in time I could obviously be wrong sky wouldn't be worth much as far as trade value goes but some team might be interested in this man now the problem with Sky being wide receivers six is that there's no real punt return option on the roster sure rookie Xavier worthy can do it but with the team seemingly wanting to lean pretty heavily on him as a receiver on offense from the jump I don't know why they would risk him getting injured by playing special teams Justin Watson has stood back there in a pinch uh but he's a used in case of emergency type of a returner in my opinion and that's why as of right now I think the Chiefs roll with seven wide receivers and that seventh guy being most likely mcole Hardman Hardman can be the primary punt returner he can also return kicks he had a really good kick return uh one of these preseason games I can't remember which one might have been the last one 40 or so yards up the field then with Hollywood Brown injured mle can fill in as needed as a gadget guy on offense jet sweeps could scheme him open he can also be used to stretch the field he runs like a 43340 so while I think mccole will be the last guy if the team chooses seven receivers for what it's worth um Hardman is a vested veteran with over four years of playing time in the NFL so if the Chiefs cut him he would not have to clear waivers so you combine that with the fact that like guju he's on a vetman deal Hardman could find himself in a situation similar to what the team has done with tight ended Blake Bell in the past he doesn't make the initial 53 then after some moves are made players shuffled around Etc he potentially ends up back on the 53 man roster and the reason why I bring that up is because cadarius Tony could also maybe possibly make the roster here though I think his chances are lower than M's at this point in time but Tony is a dangerous returner and even if that's his primary role for the season he can be used on offense sparingly if needed though the thought of that does scare the hell out of me the difference here is Tony has a cap hit of $2.5 million that remains if he's cut or stays in theory if traded a team would take on his salary his cap hit but I really do not believe Tony has any trade value ml football does have some agent connections around the league and he shared today that 10 plus teams will show interest in Tony If released and while I seriously doubt that I do think another team would give tony a shot but I don't know if they would uh be willing to even trade like a conditional seventh round pick for him at this point in time now I also realize this has me leaving off Nico rigio also Justin Ross as not making the roster and while Ross could still make it I think he has a better chance than Nico I opted to go with mcle and then the less likely option of Tony over mcco due to the team needing a trustworthy punt returner out there Nico could do it to be clear but if you look at the pecking order on when he's been used in preseason compared to others Nico really seems to be on the outside looking in and then for Justin Ross he can't contribute on special teams that way as a returner so sadly for me right now Justin Ross is the odd man out again unless something crazy happens with Sky Moore but that's where I want to pass the question off to you guys what do you make of the wide receiver room now that Juju Smith Shuster is back do you see them rolling with six or seven receiver then who do you think are the last two that makes it sky and Hardman like me or do you think Justin Ross somehow makes it over one of these guys let me know either way in the comments next up with LRZ’s potential future guju back in KC Nate Taylor of the athletic reported that guju was indeed out there practicing today and he was actually seen back in number nine which is the number he wore for Kansas City back in 2022 running back LS ree zamit though was previously wearing number nine uh but was seen out there wearing number 49 today at practice now that's the number of punter Matt Arisa so either Matt orisa is switching numbers which I would be fine with because 49 for a punter is wild or lrz is making a push as the team's go-to punter not happening or or lrz is most likely not making the 53 man roster and I believe the third option is the most realistic with re samit getting waved and most likely ending up on the practice squad I do think if the Chiefs opt to keep Jason Chu godric their International player that they placed their one exemption on if he makes the 53 man roster or he gets waved and doesn't clear waivers I believe KC could possibly place the international player exemption on lrz and he would be the 17th practice squad Edition uh the info on this though as far as if you have one placed on one international player they don't make it can you place it on another it's about as clear as mud looking at the rules so that's currently my best guess and Injury Updates before I get to the list of players the Chiefs have waved or cut down today so far as they prepare to get them from 91 players Jason Chu godri being that 91st 253 I did want to touch on some notable players that were practicing today with one of them being a sigh of relief to see spotted out there working those three players were defensive tackle Chris Jones offensive tackle W Morris and running back Clyde Edwards elair Chris Jones is working back from a shoulder Stinger he sustained in the back half at training camp should be good to go for week one though and then seeing C out there is a positive sign healthwise for him he practiced much of last week as well and I think this means his mental health related PTSD flareups and that cyclic vomiting syndrome he's been wrestling through it appears he's doing better on all fronts and he most likely makes a 53-man roster because of that with him practicing last week and today all signs are pointing to him trending in an upwards Direction healthwise the sigh of relief for me out of all these players though is going to be offensive tackle W Morris he actually went down early in the chief's third preseason game grabbing at his knee was then pulled from the game and didn't return he's not going to be the starting left tackle or anything like that I mean Kingsley Su Matia clearly won the job but W is valuable tackle depth and to see him practicing already is definitely a positive I think that there's nothing major going on with his knee then Trey Smith and IR Smith the Smith Brothers as well as Lewis ree zamit back or Limited in practice or left early but reportedly it was just due to the heat it was like 100 plus degrees today very hot to say the least meanwhile Hollywood Brown shoulder and cornerback Joshua Williams ham string did not practice today at all and uh Hollywood's no surprise but hopefully this Joshua Williams hamstring injury is pretty minor because Casey Roster cuts made today just waved another cornerback that was in the mix for a spot on the 53 man roster and a bunch of others today with those being as follows quarterback Ian book wide receiver Kyle sheets defensive tackle Alex gner offensive lineman Nick Torres wide receiver Philip Brooks cornerback Kelvin Joseph more on him in a minute cornerback Eko boo quarterback miles battle safety Tyreek Gillespie defensive end Owen Carney tight end Jor quarius bivy offensive lineman Griffin McDow and Long Snapper Randon platner most of these guys are not a big surprise outside of maybe a couple and the couple aren't even huge surprises um but it's guys that were possibly making a case for the 53 man roster Philip Brooks the Wildcat could maybe land on the practice squad as an emergency returner miles battle was an intriguing High upside defensive back that was signed after the draft but didn't really pop in camper preseason then Jarius Spivy he was just recently added but had a freaking awesome name so the best name on the team is now gone but the real surprise here or the biggest surprise of the group is cornerback Kelvin Joseph Joseph was a guy that climbed his way up the ranks throughout camp and even worked in pretty consistently with the first team defense because injuries hit the cornerback room pretty heavily however he himself got hit with the injury bug and missed the last bit of Camp maybe the last third or so and then he wasn't able to stand out enough during preseason to make it so the former second round pick of the Cowboys now finds himself moving on and he even had a pray Emoji shared earlier today so hopefully he lands on with another team or maybe he's on the chief's practice squad in case of injuries you got a lot of injuries in the cornerback room right now and more could find themselves piling up as the season goes on so when you look at these moves plus the addition of JuJu Smith Shuster this morning and the previous waving of wide receiver jiren Heek with the shoulder injury that now has the Chiefs at 78 players as of when I recorded this video at 5:30 p.m. central on Monday but by the end of day tomorrow which is I think 400 p.m. eastern Kansas City and every other NFL team needs to get their rosters down to 53 players and I will definitely be back tomorrow after all this gets announced do a video on it and all that good stuff so until next time let's go let's freaking go how about those