The NFL preseason might not excite a lot of fans these days, but it still serves a useful purpose when it comes to figuring out who will get the final few roster spots on each team.
Take the Chiefs, for example. Sure, we know who the big names are, but there are a number of battles for backup roles on the team, and the team's second preseason game could go a long way toward determining which players make the final roster.
Here are four Kansas City Chiefs players who could be on the way out if they aren't able to show something in Friday's preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Bailey Zappe - Quarterback
The Chiefs don't need to keep three quarterbacks. With Patrick Mahomes, there's simply no need for a developmental prospect as the QB3, and there are enough veterans out there that the team can just find someone off the street to sign if Mahomes went down and Gardner Minshew was forced into the starting lineup.
With that in mind, it was always going to be tough for Bailey Zappe to ever be more than camp fodder. But after how his first preseason game went, Zappe's chance to make the roster feels even more remote. Another game like that on Friday and Zappe might not even make it to the final preseason game on Aug. 22.
What happened in that first preseason contest? Zappe was 8-for-17 for 70 yards while throwing a pair of interceptions. And it's not like he was playing against starters, so it's really hard to excuse the poor showing.
Elijah Mitchell - Running Back
One thing has become clear this offseason: Kansas City has to find a way to get seventh-round pick Brashard Smith on the roster.
This leaves Elijah Mitchell and Carson Steele in a battle for the final running back spot, but the fact that Steele can play both running back positions should put him ahead in that battle.
It's a shame, because KC seemed like a solid landing spot for Mitchell, back when it looked like he could hang on as the third back and expect an elevated role if something happened to Isiah Pacheco or Kareem Hunt. But Smith becoming a key figure in KC this offseason has just doomed that plan.
Skyy Moore - Wide Receiver
It appears that the Skyy Moore era is finally about to end.
Drafted in the second round in 2022, Moore was expected by many to be a key piece of the Chiefs' offensive attack, but he has just 494 receiving yards through three seasons.
Last year, Moore played in just six games before a core injury landed him on the IR. He totaled three targets and zero receptions over those six games, and he returned two kicks.
The Chiefs just have too many promising receivers to keep Moore around, especially after he failed to bring in his only target in the preseason opener. Nikko Remigio and Tyquan Thornton have both had solid camps and offer more upside than Moore.
Joshua Williams - Cornerback
A fourth-round pick by Kansas City back in 2022, cornerback Joshua Williams just never really found a way to make a consistent impact on this Chiefs roster.
Williams has played in all but one game through his first three seasons, but his only interception came as a rookie, and he's never played more than 38 percent of KC's defensive snaps in a season.
Signing Kristian Fulton and drafting Nohl Williams in the third round this year both cloud the path to snaps even more for Williams.
The preseason opener was a mixed bag for Williams. He got a sack, which is nice to see, and he was the highest-rated player on the team by PFF rating, but he was also playing late into the game in a way that speaks volumes to his role on the roster.