KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs general manager made his second trade ahead of Saturday's waiver wire deadline to trim rosters to 53 players, picking up safety Jordan Lucas from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick.
Lucas, a sixth-round pick for the Dolphins as the No. 204th overall selection in the 2016 draft from Penn State, mostly played special teams for Miami the past seasons. He played 262 special snaps the past two years, including 182 last season. But he played just 25 snaps on defense last season. He played 19 games the past two seasons while tallying eight combined tackles. He split last season between the active roster and the practice squad, playing eight games for the Dolphins.
The 25-year-old defensive back turned in an active preseason this year, picking up 13 tackles in four games. In the preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons, Lucas picked off one pass and broke up another while also adding a sack.
Lucas appeared a roster bubble candidate for the Dolphins. But with Miami leaning toward Reshad Jones, T.J. McDonald, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Walt Aikens, that left Lucas as the odd man out.
The Chiefs have injury problems and depth concerns of their own at safety. Daniel Sorensen expects to miss the beginning of the season with a tibial plateau fracture and could begin the year on injured reserve. Eric Berry did not play during the preseason and has not practiced since Aug. 11 with a sore heel.
Second-year safety Leon McQuay and 2018 fourth-round pick Armani Watts started at safety during Thursday's preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers. Eric Murray expects to start the season at one of the safety positions. The only other safety on the roster is 2017 undrafted free agent Jordan Sterns. Rookie free agent cornerback Arrion Springs has played some safety at times during training camp and the preseason.
