Aug 23, 2014; Kansas City, MO; Chiefs coach Andy Reid on the sidelines at Arrowhead Stadium. Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The deadline for first roster cuts from 90 players to 75 players arrives at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
But the Chiefs could make some moves as early as Sunday.
“This is (general manager John) Dorsey’s area,” coach Andy Reid said during a Sunday afternoon media conference call. “I think he’ll start relatively quick. He’ll probably knock out a few today. We’ll just see how many he gets done here. That was the initial plan.”
The Chiefs come off an ugly 30-12 preseason defeat Saturday night against the Minnesota Vikings in a contest that saw the continued offensive struggles in the red zone.
Reid, however, found an area to highlight.
“The one positive about this game is we got to play a lot of guys either because there were injuries at one position and/or because the twos and threes got some time in there,” Reid said. “We were able to get on film some guys that potentially could be cut today, but are bidding for jobs in other cases there.”
The final opportunity for evaluating players in live action comes during the preseason finale on Thursday before final roster cuts on Saturday, Aug. 30.
BERRY CLOSE
All-Pro strong safety Eric Berry hasn’t played during the preseason as he deals with a right heel injury.
Berry also hasn’t practiced since the team broke training camp in St. Joseph, Mo., and hasn’t participated in the three preseason games.
But he’s close to making a return, possibly when the Chiefs return to the practice field.
“He’ll try a little bit this week,” Reid said, “and see how it feels.”
The Chiefs are taking a cautious approach with Berry, especially in light of how he tried to practice during the latter part of training camp before suffering a setback on Aug. 12.
Berry was on the morning practice field in full pads, and then left. The Chiefs revealed after practice Berry is dealing with tendonitis in his heel.
The prolonged rest may have served Berry well.
“I think he feels pretty good right now,” Reid said, “but I told you that before and it kind of came back on him. We’ve tried to rest him here an extended period of time, a little longer than we have before. We’ll just see how he comes out of it.”
Rookie Daniel Sorensen, an undrafted free agent out of Brigham Young University, started all three preseason games in Berry’s place.
STARTERS NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY PRESEASON FINALE
The Chiefs starters on both sides of the ball may have finished their preseason game work Saturday night.
And while the offense clearly needs some work, Reid indicated that work may not come during Thursday’s preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers.
“The thing I can tell you is normally I don’t play my starters in that fourth game,” Reid said. “Traditionally I’ve gone with the 2s and 3s in that game and tried to get our final evaluation done on those guys where they get an extended period of time, in some cases get to start, and just see how they do. But I can’t say that there won’t be a starter here and there.”
Of course, the Chiefs didn’t have a full deck against the Vikings.
Starting running back Jamaal Charles (foot) dressed, but did not play. The starters who didn’t dress include Berry (right heel), wide receivers Dwayne Bowe (quad) and Junior Hemingway (hip) and defensive end Mike DeVito (hand).
And their absences have affected what the Chiefs prefer to do on both sides of the ball.
“I think it’s important that we get some of our guys back,” Reid said. “They are right on the edge of being able to practice or not practice because of injury. I think that’s important and I think as many reps as we can get, whether it’s in practice or in the game, I think they’re important in some positions.”
The Chiefs open the regular season against the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 7.
