When it comes to what the Kansas City Chiefs roster will look like come Week 1 of the regular season, the biggest question -- and rightfully so -- for many fans is if Defensive Player of the Year candidate Chris Jones will be with the team at that point. Jones has been holding out throughout training camp and the preseason and recently stated on X (formerly Twitter) that he'd be willing to continue the holdout up until Week 8 of the regular season.
Despite that being the focal point of the Chiefs preseason, though, there are still a multitude of other players who have been fighting for their spots on the eventual 53-man roster. Some players have seized that opportunity and earned a spot. Others have also performed well but could still be pushed out due to the depth in the building. Then there's the group that has simply not been as good as they've needed to be.
With just one preseason game against the Cleveland Browns remaining before it'll be time for roster cut decisions, these three players appear to be on the chopping block and will likely be cut from the 53-man when the time comes.
Chiefs Rumors: 3 players on the chopping block entering preseason finale
3. Joshua Kaindoh, EDGE
Coming out of Florida State as a once heralded recruit, there was a reason that the Chiefs drafted Joshua Kaindoh in the fourth round of the 2021 draft. He appeared to have the physical tools necessary to put it together at the NFL level and be, at a minimum, a rotational piece off the edge.
To put it plainly, that hasn't happened. He played just 46 snaps as a rookie in a super-limited role before he was placed on Injured Reserve in October, but then didn't log a single snap with the defense in his sophomore campaign.
That made this training camp and preseason quite crucial for Kaindoh, but he hasn't answered the bell. He's made almost no impact in the preseason action to this point in terms of the box score, but the eye test has backed that up too as he's struggled to consistently generate any kind of pressure or movement in his matchups in the trenches.
With back-to-back first-rounders being spent on George Karlaftis and Felx Anudike-Uzomah along with Mike Danna, Malik Herring, and rookie BJ Thompson, this is starting to look like the end of the line for Kaindoh.
The physical talent of the former fourth-rounder will likely make him an easy pickup for one of the other 31 NFL teams, but in all likelihood, the Chiefs have better options to fill out the depth on the edge than a player who just hasn't delivered the results they were hoping for.
2. Kahlef Hailassie, CB
An undrafted rookie out of Western Kentucky, all the indications from training camp practices and the two preseason contests indicate that the Chiefs stumbled onto a hidden gem in this rookie class when they signed Kahlef Hailassie.
In the two preseason games to this point, Hailassie has proven his playmaking abilities, something he'd already put on display for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and the coaching staff in practice. He's registered three tackles, one interception and one pass defense in live-game action thus far.
If the Chiefs were hurting at cornerback, Hailassie would be an easy pick to keep on the 53-man roster. That, however, is not the case. L'Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson appear entrenched as starters while guys like Joshua Williams, Nic Jones, Dicaprio Bootle, veteran Lamar Jackson and others may have a leg up on Hailassie given their draft pedigree and/or experience.
In an ideal world, the Chiefs would love to get the UDFA corner onto the practice squad given what he's shown them in camp and the preseason. However, he's likely performed too well for that to be viable. Unless he goes berserk in the preseason finale against the Browns, the fact of the matter is that Hailassie will probably get scooped up and be playing somewhere else this season.
1. Deneric Prince, RB
Outside of Justyn Ross, you could make the case that no player at Chiefs training camp has captured the attention and hearts of fans more than Deneric Prince.
The undrafted rookie out of Tulsa has been making waves essentially since he arrived on the field, making a number of highlight-reel plays in the ground game during practice and then showing some flashes in preseason action as well, both as a running back and as a return-man.
Unfortunately, Prince might not have shown quite enough juice in live-game action this preseason to earn his 53-man roster spot. In the opener against the Saints, he registered just 14 yards on four carries, following that up with six carries for 20 years, albeit with a touchdown, in the second preseason outing against the Cardinals.
Working further against the Chiefs rookie in that capacity is the fact that La'Mical Perine, a 2020 fourth-round pick by the Jets, has flashed more consistently in preseason action out of the backfield.
Given that this is already a crowded position group that could also see former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire either be cut or traded when the day comes, Prince was always fighting an uphill battle. There is still a chance he torches the Browns in the preseason finale but, barring that, it seems more likely that he'll be pushed off of the roster with hopes of joining the practice squad.
