{"id":243496,"date":"2025-08-23T16:00:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T20:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=243496"},"modified":"2025-08-23T15:50:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T19:50:50","slug":"chiefs-predicted-to-part-ways-with-super-bowl-champion-fan-favorite-in-roster-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/08\/23\/chiefs-predicted-to-part-ways-with-super-bowl-champion-fan-favorite-in-roster-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs Predicted to Part Ways With Super Bowl Champion, Fan Favorite in Roster Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Kansas City Chiefs\u2019 roster is fairly set; one of the perks of being a perennial Super Bowl contender. But the Chiefs do have some critical decisions to make and noteworthy players like Carson Steele and Joshua Williams.<\/p>\n<p>Just as surprising, The Athletic\u2019s Jesse Newell projects the Chiefs will also cut newcomer Elijah Mitchell.<\/p>\n<h2>Chiefs Predicted to Part Ways Super Bowl Champion, Noteworthy Duo<\/h2>\n<h3>Super Bowl Champion on Roster Bubble<\/h3>\n<p>The Chiefs selected Williams in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs, logging 12 starts in 50 games played across his three seasons. Despite that, the Chiefs\u2019 depth at his position could make Williams a cut candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, Williams\u2019 experience and draft pedigree could make him an appealing trade target. That is especially true for any team not looking to compete for his services in free agency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of teams in the NFL should be inquiring about Chiefs 2022 fourth-round draft pick Joshua Williams, who is the odd man out here,\u201d Newell wrote on August 23. \u201cWilliams has good size at 6-3 and 193 pounds, and though he struggled to move up the depth chart this camp, he\u2019s a great personality and locker room presence who could help a more cornerback-needy team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Chiefs boast a deep and versatile room of corners, led by two-time All-Pro Trent McDuffie.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Roland-Wallace, Nazeeh Johnson, and Nohl Williams are on hand to provide depth and support behind McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, and newcomer Kristian Fulton. That could have Williams on the outside looking in for the Chiefs.<\/p>\n<p>What the Chiefs could expect to receive in return for Williams is a significant question mark. It is clear they do not need him and that he could be a cut candidate.<\/p>\n<p>It is also unclear if the Chiefs are even keen on parting with Williams, given his experience.<\/p>\n<h3>Rookie 7th-Round Pick Putting Roster Squeeze on Chiefs Teammates<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_243501\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-243501\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-243501\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/08\/USATSI_26905601-scaled-e1755978545290-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"Brashard Smith, Kansas City Chiefs\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/08\/USATSI_26905601-scaled-e1755978545290-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/08\/USATSI_26905601-scaled-e1755978545290-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/08\/USATSI_26905601-scaled-e1755978545290-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/08\/USATSI_26905601-scaled-e1755978545290-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/08\/USATSI_26905601-scaled-e1755978545290-2048x1154.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-243501\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aug 22, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith (30) celebrates after a catch and run against the Chicago Bears during the first half of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Williams\u2019s exit might impact the Chiefs more on the field, but <a  href=\"https:\/\/arrowheadaddict.com\/chiefs-fan-favorite-hanging-by-thread-incoming-rookie-01jt8rayj8vk\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steele is a fan favorite<\/a>. Newell pointed to the presence of rookie seventh-round draft pick Brashard Smith as a reason the Chiefs could move on from Mitchell and Steele behind Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt.<\/p>\n<p>That does not mean the Chiefs would not look to add someone else to the mix.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSmith, a former receiver in college, should be more of a wideout\/running back hybrid player as opposed to someone who will be asked to line up and take carries out of the backfield. That means the Chiefs are likely still one body short at this position,\u201d Newell wrote. \u201cDon\u2019t be surprised \u2026 if the Chiefs look to the trade market or waivers for an upgrade. On top of the wish list would be a third-down back with receiving skills who also could be trusted to protect Mahomes on pass-blocking downs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mitchell, who spent the first three years of his career battling injuries with the San Francisco 49ers, and Steele have showcased versatility before.<\/p>\n<p>However, neither has established himself enough to warrant closing the door on outside options. More such options could become available as teams make cuts to trim their rosters down to the 53-player limit for the regular season.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There could be a notable set of roster moves coming for the Chiefs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2879,"featured_media":243499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[32373,7811,7984,9167],"class_list":["post-243496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chiefs","tag-carson-steele","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-elijah-mitchell","tag-joshua-williams"],"modified_by":"Josh Buckhalter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243496"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243504,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243496\/revisions\/243504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}