NFL free agency 2011 officially kicks off here very shortly and I wanted to go over a quick breakdown of where the Kansas CIty Chiefs stand in terms of roster numbers before the 5 p.m. (CT) kickoff time.
Per the new CBA, NFL teams are allowed 90 players on their roster during training camp and preseason. Then on August 30th, the first NFL cuts will happen when teams go from 90 to 75 players. Then on September 3rd, teams will have to trim their rosters down from 75 to 53 players.
So, the Chiefs need to get to 90 players now. How many more players will they need to sign? I'm guessing around 18 new players.
Here's how I arrived at that number:
- 63 players are currently listed on the team roster at KCChiefs.com which includes franchised LB Tamba Hali, all nine rookies and all announced undrafted free agent signings.
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That 63 does not include the 14 unrestricted free agents the Chiefs had entering the offseason including: .
C Casey Wiegmann, WR Terrance Copper, CB Travis Daniels, S Jon McGraw, NT Ron Edwards, DE Shaun Smith, LB Charlie Anderson, RB Jackie Battle, FB Tim Castille, OT Ryan O'Callaghan, LB Corey Mays, TE Leonard Pope, C Rudy Niswanger and QB Brodie Croyle.
(Italics = reportedly re-signed with Chiefs. Bold = reportedly signed elsewhere) - That 63 does not include the 4 restricted free agents with a tender including DE Wallace Gilberry (2nd round), CB Brandon Carr (1st round), OT Barry Richardson (2nd round) and FB Mike Cox (right of first refusal).
- WR Steve Breaston, who reportedly will sign with the Chiefs, is not included on the roster yet.
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All 9 2011 NFL draft picks are included in the 63.
So take the 63 players currently listed on the roster, add in our four reported unrestricted free agent signings, and the Chiefs' roster is estimated to be at 67 players. Let's assume all four of those restricted free agents are back, too, making that number 71 and then Breaston as well making it 72.
That means the Chiefs roster would sit at 72 players, which means the Chiefs can add at least 18 players before training camp.
That more than likely includes a good chunk of the remaining unrestricted free agents (these guys: LB Charlie Anderson, RB Jackie Battle, FB Tim Castille, OT Ryan O'Callaghan, LB Corey Mays, TE Leonard Pope, C Rudy Niswanger and QB Brodie Croyle) as well as other guys that are invited to camp.
And I'm going to guess you probably will not have heard of a dozen of those 18 guys. But we'll make sure you're caught up.