5 thoughts on the Kansas City Chiefs’ initial 53-man roster

The Kansas City Chiefs have assembled its first iteration of the 53-man roster for the 2022 NFL season.

It wasn’t quite what many were expecting and will likely undergo some changes within the next 24 hours. The team will have the opportunity to send players to injured reserve, claim players on waivers and sign free agents by mid-day tomorrow. Before that happens, let’s take a look at the initial roster composition and see what we can draw from it.

Here are some thoughts on the initial 53-man roster:

Three quarterbacks not a big surprise

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Historically speaking, Chiefs HC Andy Reid has often carried three quarterbacks on his rosters. He’s only carried fewer than three quarterbacks on three occasions since 1999, those just all happened to come in the past few years with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback. That said, it has been clear since last season that the team likes and wants to keep Shane Buechele long-term. They went out of their way to protect him and get him on the 53-man roster late in the year. With his performance in the preseason and the way the NFL values the quarterback position, this development shouldn’t be too surprising for fans. He very well could be the backup quarterback of the future in Kansas City should Chad Henne choose to retire.

Confidence shown in new receivers

AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski

Many believed that the Chiefs were bound to carry six receivers on the 53-man roster, which caused a bit of a stir when Daurice Fountain was released from the roster. The belief that the team would carry more receivers seemed to be centered around two things — the uncertainty at the position surrounding Tyreek Hill’s departure and Dave Toub’s need for special teamers. I get the sense that this is a bit of a show of faith in the receiver group that the Chiefs have assembled this year. It also doesn’t hurt when you have a trio of solid pass-catching tight ends like Travis Kelce, Noah Gray and Jody Fortson.

Preseason Week 3 helped Ronald Jones

Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Many on the Chiefs beat (including myself) had Ronald Jones not making the 53-man roster. He’d been mostly unimpressive during the course of training camp and through two preseason games, he’d produced just five yards on the ground on four carries. Then preseason Week 3 against the Packers comes along and Jones…