GRETZ: The Next Moves

**m0ef0e** · 08-31-2007, 12:17 PM

GRETZ: The Next Moves

Aug 31, 2007, 8:50:56 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

ST. LOUIS – Last night at the Ed Dome here, the Chiefs finished up the pre-season losing 10-3 to the St. Louis Rams.
Game highlights included …
Enough of that.
Thankfully the pre-season is completed. Now, comes the matter of trimming the roster to the NFL limit of 53 players. That must get done by Saturday afternoon. The Chiefs may announce some of their moves as early as Friday afternoon.
For the most part, there really aren’t that many tough decisions for the Chiefs. Many of the players that will be released are names that are not well known to Chiefs fans. But there are some familiar names that were part of the discussions leading up to this final cut. Especially this year, with Herm Edwards talking about this team getting younger.
Whether or not any of these players actually sees the waiver wire remains to be seen, but you can bet there were discussions about the options with numerous veteran players like:
Tight End Jason Dunn. After starting the pre-season on the PUP list, Dunn got back on the field and he’s been less than impressive. He’s survived this long because of his ability to block and if the coaches feel that’s dropped off at all, there’s not much of a reason to keep him. Given the Chiefs offensive problems in the pre-season, the coaches on that side of the ball will likely lobby to keep any player that could provide help for that unit.
Safety Greg Wesley. The Chiefs have been trying to trade Wesley for the better part of the last six months. There have been a couple of interested parties including most recently the Houston Texans. That deal didn’t get done when Wesley refused to re-negotiate his contract. Wesley can still contribute on the field, but he won’t be a starter and that’s not likely to leave him as a happy camper.
Wide Receiver Samie Parker. There really hasn’t been much of a change in the evaluation of Parker since the end of last season. He’s physically gifted, but he drops too many passes and too often is not where he should be on pass routes. Herm Edwards wants to get Dwayne Bowe and Jeff Webb on the field in the offense, which is going to take away snaps from Parker. The addition of Eddie Drummond as a receiver-returner brings into discussion whether the Chiefs carry four or five receivers. If it’s four, Parker is the odd man out.
Fullback Boomer Grigsby. After last season, Grigsby knew the only way to save his spot on the Chiefs roster was to make the switch from linebacker to offense and the fullback position. He’s made great progress there, making himself more of a factor in the battle for roster spots than anyone would have imagined. Losing two games to injury did not help his cause. Neither did his dropped pass Thursday night in St. Louis, or his first holding call in pass protection. The Chiefs are not an every-down, two-back team, which means they have less of a need for a backup fullback.
Linebacker Rich Scanlon. The Chiefs figure to keep seven linebackers, although the situation with Wesley may force them to carry five safeties, which has a trickle down effect on the other positions. Right now, it looks like Scanlon trying to pry the seventh linebacker spot out of the hands of rookie free agent Nate Harris. Against St. Louis, Scanlon and Harris were on all four major kicking teams units. The decision may come down to Scanlon’s experience against Harris’ upside and speed.