Kansas City Chiefs 2023 Roster Cut and Practice Squad Tracker
One of the most important, but also one of the most daunting, weeks of the year is here for all 32 NFL teams: roster cutdown time.
By 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 29, teams were required to have their 90-man rosters trimmed to 53 players. Once that's done and clubs are compliant, elements such as injured reserve, suspensions and more can be factored into the picture. Stemming from a decision made at league meetings earlier this year, this was the only cutdown date and the days of there being several spanning over the course of the preseason are a thing of the past.
Kansas City's roster is coming into focus, and Arrowhead Report is keeping track of the moves general manager Brett Veach and his staff make. Below is a running list of those who got cut (waived or released) by the team with clickable links that go directly to initial reports. Additionally, catch up on practice squad news as it becomes available and read commentary on some of the Chiefs' top decisions — including trades — from cutdown week.
* Indicates additional commentary below.
Full list of Kansas City Chiefs 2023 roster cuts
- DE Joshua Kaindoh waived
- DT Phil Hoskins waived
- S Deon Bush and DL Danny Shelton released*
- CB Reese Taylor waived
- CB Ekow Boye-Doe waived
- LB Cole Christiansen waived
- S Anthony Cook waived
- QBs Shane Buechele and Chris Oladokun waived*
- OL Sebastian Gutierrez waived
- RB Deneric Prince waived
- DT Daniel Wise waived
- CB Kahlef Hailassie waived
- RB La'Mical Perine waived*
- C Austin Reiter released
- TE Kendall Blanton waived
- DL Matt Dickerson released
All subsequent players are from an article/announcement on the Chiefs' official team website.
- CB Dicaprio Bootle waived
- TE Matt Bushman waived
- RB Jerrion Ealy waived
- WR Ty Fryfogle waived
- WR Izaiah Gathings waived
- OT Chukwuebuka Godrick waived*
- WR Juwan Green waived
- OT Anderson Hardy waived
- DB Lamar Jackson waived
- DE Truman Jones waived
- OT Darian Kinnard waived*
- DB Duron Lowe waived
- DB Isaiah Norman waived
- WR Cornell Powell waived
- WR Ty Scott waived
- DT Chris Williams waived
- OG Jerome Carvin waived — injured
- LB Olakunle Fatukasi waived — injured
- WR Nikko Remigio waived — injured
Chiefs practice squad signings and waiver pickups/departures
- CB Reese Taylor
- C Austin Reiter
- S Deon Bush and DT Danny Shelton
- OT Chukwuebuka Godrick
- TE Matt Bushman, RB Deneric Prince, RB La'Mical Perine and WR Cornell Powell
- LB Cole Christiansen
- CB Ekow Boye-Doe
- QB Chris Oladokun
- WR Montrell Washington
- TE Gerrit Prince
- CB Keith Taylor
- DE Truman Jones, OT Darian Kinnard, DT Chris Williams and DT Matt Dickerson
- OG Jerome Carvin, LB Olakunle Fatukasi and WR Nikko Remigio (injured)*
- WAIVER PICKUP: CB Darius Rush — claimed off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts
- WAIVER DEPARTURE: CB Kahlef Hailassie — claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns
Takeaways from Kansas City's initial roster transactions
TRADES: The Chiefs' first move on cutdown day involved losing a player from the roster, but it also brought back something in return. Kansas City traded wideout Ihmir Smith-Marsette to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a swap of conditional 2025 seventh-round picks, clearing a spot on the team while also allowing Carolina to avoid competing for his services on the waiver wire. Later in the day, the club sent a sixth-round offering to the Las Vegas Raiders for defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr.
BUSH AND SHELTON: It should be noted that both are vested veterans, which means they have accrued four seasons in the league. As a result, they won't have to go through waivers. This is potentially good news for Kansas City, as both players will soon be free to speak to teams at will and sign with whichever club's active roster or practice squad they choose. The Chiefs should be included in that conversation. There's a chance that these moves were procedural in nature. UPDATE: As noted above, both players are back on Kansas City's practice squad.
QUARTERBACKS: The cut of Oladokun was expected, but Buechele was in what appeared to be a somewhat serious competition with Blaine Gabbert for the backup role behind Patrick Mahomes. It's possible that Buechele clears waivers and returns to Kansas City on the practice squad — the team has made an effort to roster him in recent seasons — but this transaction is a relative shocker. UPDATE: According to a Thursday morning report, Buechele is signing with the Buffalo Bills' practice squad.
RUNNING BACKS: In a sentiment similar to the quarterbacks being cut, both Prince and Perine falling to those same fates was a surprise. Prince's struggles and Perine's success during the preseason made it pretty clear that the latter had the inside edge on securing a running back No. 4 job in Kansas City, but the team opted instead to carry three halfbacks on its initial 53-man roster.
PRACTICE SQUAD ALLOWANCE? If Godrick returns to the Chiefs on a practice squad basis, the team is allowed to count him as its 17th man. Because Godrick is a part of the league's International Player Pathway program, Kansas City was granted an extra roster spot and technically had 91 players on its 90-man roster during the offseason. In the event that he didn't land back with the Chiefs, however, the practice squad limit would be confined to 16 players. UPDATE: Godrick is back in Kansas City, granting the team that extra spot. The list above is greater than 17 players long, so more moves will be coming — Arrowhead Report will keep you apprised.
KINNARD: Considering the Chiefs drafted Kinnard just one cycle ago, this decision was a surprise. The former Kentucky offensive lineman displayed some guard versatility as of late and it was previously presumed that he had an inside edge on Mike Caliendo to secure a spot on the initial 53. With Caliendo making the cut and both Prince Tega Wanogho and Lucas Niang sliding in as backup tackles alongside rookie Wanya Morris, there was only so much room in the offensive line room.
INJURED PLAYER NEWS: The aforementioned trio of Carvin, Fatukasi and Remigio passed through waivers with injury designations. Now, per Matt Derrick, they will be on the injured reserve list barring an injury settlement being reached.
MAKING ROOM: When Kansas City claimed Rush off waivers from Indianapolis, it necessitated a corresponding roster move to be made in order for there to be room for him on the club's 53-man roster. That move is presumably the release of Dickerson, which was reported on Wednesday afternoon.
Chris Jones placed on reserve/did not report list
As defensive tackle Chris Jones continues his holdout due to the lack of a long-term contract extension with the Chiefs, he has yet to report to the team. Consequently, the club placed him on the reserve/did not report list on Tuesday. This grants Kansas City an exemption from Jones taking up a roster spot, as well as giving the team temporary salary cap relief from paying Jones until he's taken off the list. Adam Schefter of ESPN adds that there's "no end currently in sight" regarding Jones's ongoing holdout.
