KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs set their initial 53-man roster with only a few surprises, but it's the next moves that should shed more light on the team's makeup heading to Jacksonville for next week's season opener.
The Chiefs place defensive end Breeland Speaks and wide receiver Gehrig Dieter on injured reserve. Because they are not on the initial 53-man roster, neither can play for the Chiefs this season.
The club did not place Chad Henne on injured reserve. They expect to do so now, which will free up one roster spot immediately.
The biggest surprise release may be offensive guard Jeff Allen, who just recently resigned with the club. Allen is a vested veteran, however, whose contract becomes guaranteed if he's on the Week 1 roster.
Cornerback Morris Claiborne and De'Anthony Thomas begin the season on the suspended list and do not count against the 53-man roster limit. Claiborne will miss the first four weeks, while Thomas must sit out one game.
The Chiefs made two trades, the biggest involving running back Carlos Hyde doing to the Houston Texans for offensive guard Martinas Rankin. The club also sent rookie cornerback Mark Fields to Minnesota in exchange for a 2021 seventh-round draft pick.
Wide receiver Felton Davis and CB Michael Hunter were waived with injury designations. They will return to the club on injured reserve if they clear waivers.
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 10-player practice squad. Here's the Chiefs' initial 53-man roster:
Quarterback (3)
Patrick Mahomes
Chad Henne
Matt Moore
Running Back (4)
Damien Williams
Darwin Thompson
Darrel Williams
Tremon Smith
Fullback (1)
Anthony Sherman
Tight End (3)
Travis Kelce
Blake Bell
Deon Yelder
Wide Receiver (5)
Tyreek Hill
Sammy Watkins
Demarcus Robinson
Mecole Hardman
Byron Pringle
Offensive Line (9)
Eric Fisher
Andrew Wylie
Austin Reiter
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
Mitchell Schwartz
Cam Erving
Ryan Hunter
Nick Allegretti
Martinas Rankin
Defensive Line (10)
Frank Clark
Chris Jones
Alex Okafor
Derrick Nnadi
Xavier Williams
Emmanuel Ogbah
Khalen Saunders
Tanoh Kpassagnon
Joey Ivie
Jeremiah Attaochu
Linebacker (6)
Anthony Hitchens
Damien Wilson
Reggie Ragland
Darron Lee
Ben Niemann
Dorian O'Daniel
Cornerback (4)
Kendall Fuller
Bashaud Breeland
Charvarius Ward
Rashad Fenton
Safety (5)
Tyrann Mathieu
Daniel Sorensen
Juan Thornhill
Jordan Lucas
Armani Watts
Specialists (3)
K Harrison Butker
P Dustin Colquitt
LS James Winchester
