The Kansas City Chiefs are in unfamiliar territory, no longer the outright favorites to win the Super Bowl after a 40-22 dismantling at the hands of a deep, hungry Philadelphia Eagles team. I don't think any of us are ready to rule out the Chiefs — Patrick Mahomes is, in the words of Thanos, inevitable. But there is a real sense of Kansas City's mortality for the first time in years.
The Chiefs are an aging team with clear weaknesses. Head coach Andy Reid is a super genius, and so is defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for that matter, but there are plenty of teams with capable coaches and far deeper reservoirs of talent around their star quarterbacks. Kansas City won 15 games last season, but the majority of them were lucky one-score wins that showcased the Chiefs' incredible poise an experience, but also their shortcomings.
So far in training camp, plenty of folks have stood out. But there are also a few notable Chiefs on the roster bubble and running out of chances to keep their spot. Let's dive into them.
3 Chiefs facing do-or-die preseason finale
3. RB Elijah Mitchell
After putting up an impressive 1,100 yards from scrimmage as a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers, Mitchell has seen his production (and his health) falter. He has appeared in 16 games (two starts) over the last two seasons, notching 120 carries for 560 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 4.7 yards per carry.
It seems silly to talk about a 27-year-old like he's ancient, but windows close especially fast for running backs in the NFL. With health working against him, Mitchell has struggled to stay on the field and prove his worth at a position where replacement-level fillers are a dime a dozen. He has averaged only 2.7 yards per carry in limited preseason action for the Chiefs, so there's a real chance he misses the roster cut next week.
Mitchell entered training camp as the presumed RB3 in Kansas City, a potential change-of-pace option behind Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt. But we know Pacheco and Hunt will dominante the majority of carries as is, while seventh-round pick Brashard Smith out of SMU has done a lot to prove his competence in recent weeks. If the Chiefs see a future for the rookie, Mitchell becomes easily expendable.
2. QB Bailey Zappe
After two brutal seasons with the New England Patriots and a brief cameo with the Cleveland Browns in 2024, Bailey Zappe is on his last legs at the NFL level. He began training camp as the favorite to earn QB3 duties behind Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew, but the 26-year-old has done very little to back up his claim.
Chris Oladokun, a former seventh-round pick out of South Dakota State, has never logged an NFL snap. But he has performed much better than Zappe in limited preseason action. In their Week 2 loss to Seattle, Zappe did not enter the game until the second half and he failed to convert a single first down. Oladokun didn't exactly light the world on fire with 31 yards on 4-of-7 passing, but he looked comfortable enough relative to his peers. More notably, he was just on the field before Zappe, a potential sign of shifting tides in the Chiefs QB room.
In 15 career games (seven starts), Zappe has more interceptions (14) than touchdowns (12). While it's fair to point out the non-ideal circumstances he played under in Foxboro and Cleveland, it's not like the Chiefs offense is equipped with dominant playmakers across the board. Andy Reid can help any quarterback, but Oladokun has a stronger arm and a less-known quality that could actually help him leapfrog a career-long underperformer like Zappe. The Chiefs won't take four quarterbacks into the regular season.
1. WR Skyy Moore
A second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Skyy Moore has struggled to live up to expectations since his arrival in Kansas City. Chiefs fans were willing to invest in him as a foundational playmaker next to Patrick Mahomes, but even this blistering Chiefs offense wasn't enough to elevate Moore beyond situational usage.
He didn't put up more than 250 yards in either of his first two seasons. In year three, Moore dealt with injuries and was limited to three targets and zero catches in only six games. Mahomes just does not trust him, which makes it had to justify keeping Moore on the roster, especially after a muted preseason.
Rashee Rice's looming suspension could tempt Kansas City into keeping more wideouts on the roster, but Moore is buried deep on the depth chart, and even an extra body for safety might be too little to guarantee his spot. Rice, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and fourth-round pick Jalen Royals are locks. That is five off the bat. Meanwhile, Tyquon Thornton, himself a former second-round pick in 2022, and Nikko Remigio, the Chiefs' favorite kick returner, could be viewed as more dependable or just more useful in a niche role.