The Kansas City Chiefs proved that they are still the team to beat in the AFC after a Week 1 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. And that’s in part due to the depth of their roster.
“It’s difficult to come up with a player who would reasonably be worth pursuing at this point,” Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine admitted on September 9 regarding the Chiefs — as the website’s scouting department looked into potential Week 2 additions around the league.
Ballentine did not share the same sentiment for the Miami Dolphins, who were eliminated by Kansas City during the wildcard round of last year’s AFC playoff bracket.
“The Dolphins are once again entering a season in which their offensive line is a question mark,” the NFL writer noted. Reasoning that “Terron Armstead’s availability has been historically shaky, they lost Robert Hunt at guard, they will be leaning on Liam Eichenberg, and they are only carrying three guards on the active roster.”
“It would be worth considering adding another lineman who could play on the interior,” he went on. Eventually suggesting KC offensive lineman Lucas Niang as a possible candidate.
“The Kansas City Chiefs played around with moving 2020 third-round pick Lucas Niang inside this summer,” Ballentine noted. “The Dolphins could pick up where they left off by poaching him from the Chiefs practice squad.”
Remember, per NFL rules, any player on a practice squad can be signed to another team’s active roster at any time. In this scenario, Miami would swipe some OL depth away from Kansas City.
Chiefs’ Lucas Niang Lost 53-Man Roster Spot to UDFA Ethan Driskell This Summer
Niang has been a trade or cut candidate for some time now, but he actually appeared to work his way back up the depth chart this summer ahead of the 53-man roster deadline. So much so that most KC beat reporters expected Niang would make the team as the backup right tackle.
In the end, that didn’t happen as Chiefs undrafted rookie Ethan Driskell did enough to claim his spot.
Now, one could argue that Kansas City thought about this strategically. Driskell is an affordable 6-foot-8 24-year-old that drew some interest during the UDFA process, so it’s possible he might have been claimed after the cutdown.
Niang on the other hand has struggled to live up to his draft status and has been trending downward ever since he suffered a major knee injury at the tail end of the 2021 campaign. He also carried a third-round cap hit at the time, which may have further discouraged other teams from claiming him.
With Niang now signed to a practice squad deal, however, a potential suitor like the Dolphins would no longer have to worry about his rookie contract. That could make the 26-year-old more enticing as an OL flyer with versatility.
Giants & Jaguars Called Potential Landing Spots for Chiefs RG Trey Smith in 2025 Free Agency
With the Chiefs choosing to extend center Creed Humphrey ahead of the 2024 campaign, it’s been theorized that the franchise could allow starting right guard Trey Smith to walk in 2025 free agency.
If that were to occur, Bleacher Report believes that the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants both make sense as potential landing spots.
“Greg Van Roten is on a one-year deal, leaving the G-Men with a need for a starting right guard moving forward,” fellow Bleacher Report writer Kristopher Knox reasoned for New York. He also noted that “[NYG general manager] Joe Schoen should have plenty of cap space to make this pairing happen as the Giants are currently projected to have $30.1 million available, per Over the Cap.”
Similarly, Ballentine argued that “there’s a good chance the Jaguars look at the interior of their offensive line and realize they are going to have to make some changes.”
“[Right guard] Brandon Scherff is 32 years old and playing on an expiring contract,” he explained. Continuing: “[Center] Mitch Morse is still serviceable, but he’s aging. [And left guard] Ezra Cleveland is a fine stop-gap starter, but he’s not good enough to pass on an opportunity to upgrade… Smith is one of the best guards in the league, and he would go a long way to improving the offensive line and giving the Jaguars a path to taking the next step on offense.”
