KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs have set their initial 53-player roster for the 2020 season with the Houston Texans awaiting on Thursday night as Kansas City starts its defense of their Super Bowl title.
Among the players released in the cut down to 53 is defensive end Breeland Speaks, the club’s 2018 second-round draft pick.
The club also released veteran quarterback Matt Moore. However, the club expects to keep Moore around as its third quarterback. Revised roster rules for 2020 allow teams to build a 16-player practice squad starting Sunday, and up to six players can have unlimited experience. Vested veterans such as Moore also become free agents exempt from waivers, which gives Moore a choice in his landing spot. He’s expressed a preference to remain with Kansas City.
The full list of cuts: OT Jackson Barton, CB Rodney Clemons, LB Omari Cobb, S Adrian Colbert, WR Gehrig Dieter, WR Maurice Ffrench, WR Jody Fortson, LB Darius Harris, TE Daniel Helm, CB Lavert Hill, DT Braxton Hoyett, OG Ryan Hunter, CB Chris Lammons, DT Devaroe Lawrence, WR Kalija Lipscomb, RB Elijah McGuire, QB Matt Moore, OT Greg Senat, WR Justice Shelton-Mosley, DE Breeland Speaks, QB Jordan Ta’amu, DE Tim Ward, RB DeAndre Washington and OL Darryl Williams.
Cornerback Bashaud Breeland and defensive tackle Mike Pennel will start the season on the reserve/suspended list. The club also placed offensive lineman Martinas Rankin on the physically unable to perform list, which means he will miss the first six weeks of the season.
Players waived today remain on waivers until 11 a.m. central time Sunday. Once the league issues its transaction report around noon with who did and did not clear waivers, teams can begin building a 16-player practice squad. Here’s the Chiefs’ initial 53-man roster:
Quarterbacks (2)
Patrick Mahomes
Chad Henne
Running backs (4)
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Darrel Williams
Darwin Thompson
Anthony Sherman
Wide Receivers (6)
Tyreek Hill
Sammy Watkins
Mecole Hardman
Demarcus Robinson
Byron Pringle
Marcus Kemp
Tight Ends (4)
Travis Kelce
Nick Keizer
Ricky Seals-Jones
Deon Yelder
Offensive Line (9)
Eric Fisher
Kelechi Osemele
Austin Reiter
Andrew Wylie
Mitchell Schwartz
Mike Remmers
Nick Allegretti
Daniel Kilgore
Yasir Durant
Defensive Line (10)
Frank Clark
Chris Jones
Derrick Nnadi
Alex Okafor
Tanoh Kpassagnon
Khalen Saunders
Taco Charlton
Mike Danna
Demone Harris
Tershawn Wharton
Linebackers (5)
Anthony Hitchens
Damien Wilson
Ben Niemann
Willie Gay
Dorian O’Daniel
Cornerbacks (5)
Charvarius Ward
Rashad Fenton
L’Jarius Sneed
Antonio Hamilton
BoPete Keyes
Safeties (5)
Tyrann Mathieu
Juan Thornhill
Daniel Sorensen
Tedric Thompson
Armani Watts
Specialists (3)
Harrison Butker
Tommy Townsend
James Winchester
Suspended List (2)
Bashaud Breeland
Mike Pennel
Physically Unable to Perform List (1)
Martinas Rankin
