Chiefs Bring Back Juju Smith-Schuster, Start Cutting to 53!

it's a day before cutdowns have to be official and it's already begun Juju Smith Shuster is back in town and was already at practice what does it all mean today I'm locked on Chiefs from the land of the free and the home of the Chiefs this is the lockon Chiefs [Music] podcast welcome back everybody some good news today but we are also brought to you by some of our friends over at FanDuel they're helping you out cuz right now you bet five of FanDuel and you can get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube and YouTube TV just visit fanduel.com lockon and get started we're going to get started because this is Chris Clark the man that runs KC Chiefs corner and you can get all the information that you need on everything quarterbacks cap business-wise it's all there I'm Ryan Tracy the founder of Rogue analytics and performance Consulting as well as NFL 33.com and rgrf foot.com running it all down thanks for making us your first list and check out another lock on show for your next one especially one of the teams that is already letting players go the Chiefs could be interested in there's a few of them out there always always always start with us here on YouTube where you can like and sub and hit the Bell get on to the podcast audio side at Spotify and apple podcast anywhere you can get a free show you can get us five days a week plus including all that extra information that you can get right now on The Insider text line Locos are our everyday listeners we love you guys and we appreciate you being on the text line as well it's at 816 357 8781 lot to get after here the Chiefs have released the first wave of players they did not practice on Monday there are changes in the wide receiver room that Ripple through that we're talk about both those topics coming up in the show but we start today where it begins old friend coming back to the roster judis Miss Shuster returns to the roster was actually out of practice um lrz gave up his number uh so that he could have old number nine back which I appreciate because I like seeing that it's it's something it's been rumored we've been talking about it for a bit I think we've both had comments on it in the past wasn't something that I was anticipating down the line because of the way the last few weeks have gone with u the emergence of Justin Ross like playing better and we were talking about maybe they need to keep seven wide receivers now and all kinds of stuff he comes back for one reason he's got Patrick Mahomes trust he's produced for this team even when he was hurting in the past I think they're just doubling down on his history is do you see something else tweeted this out earlier uh in 2022 when he was here with Patrick Mahomes he was tied for 20th in the league in first downs at the wide receiver position and that to me tells you everything that you need to know about what the signing is about it's about he has Patrick mahomes's trust and he is able to convert first downs is he going to be a different receiver than he was when he was here in 22 2022 I would imagine so I don't think that he's going to get near the snaps that they were expecting or that he got obviously in 2022 uh he is still dealing with the knee injury and I I think that's going to hamper what he's able to do but I do think that this has value this gives them a possession type guy that they can trust that they know knows the system and can step in and and kind of take over uh in you know if some in case something happens to a guy like rasid rice you don't really have another type of those wide receivers on this roster uh Watson can do a lot but he's still not Juju when it comes a possession so I do think that that's probably where where they're going to use him yeah that makes sense and I'm glad that you bring that up because I do see that this has changed since his time here I don't know that you can call him a threat to go downfield anymore he can still do some of the the Deep crossers I took a quick look at some of uh the Patriots film it wasn't the greatest season for him but he was out there um at this point like you said he's always been a physical guy he's built pretty thick um I I don't see that as a replacement for rir rice in case she gets hurt or that suspension comes down whenever it comes down to me he looks like mostly for this offense going to be more of a possession underneath receiver that can play off of Rashi and off of Travis Kelce you see it differently than I do I'm just saying I think that he he can step in and kind of do some of the stuff that Rashid does and I'm not saying that he's going to replace rice I'm just saying that it gives him a type of wide receiver to kind of back up rice that they don't really have right now uh he doesn't have the explosiveness but the he is going to raise the floor on this receiver room and I think that's what's important and then you look at the contract I mean that's really we don't know what the amount that he signed for was but an educated guest says that it's league minimum uh because he's still getting paid like $7 million from the Patriots and I'm guessing they have an offset uh so at this point I'm guessing they're only paying him league minimum for the year and he's going to make the balance from the Patriots and that's a great deal for Kansas City and you bring in a guy that can do uh you know what he used to do for the Chiefs and step in and if you have an injury it's another guy that knows what's going on yeah I I think that makes sense obviously gonna take a little bit of time to get back into the flow of it and and some things have changed but when you look at what he was able to produce I think it was more a uh a function of of the quarterbacking and the team that he was on in this last offense he had for the Chiefs put up 12 yards per reception had three touchdowns on that season right during the regular season last year drops back down to nine just above his career lows in Pittsburgh of 8.6 and 8.6 in 20 and 21 so we've seen he's been able to jump back off of that once he gets into the read offense right I kind of expect a bounce back there too I don't know if the volume's going to be there uh 97 targets for 78 catches for the Chiefs in 2022 I can't see that being a volume share that he's going to get but I do think he should be a 10 plus reception a 10 yard per reception guy I think his his average depth at Target is going to expand again and maybe that's the key to making him more productive well and that's possible I would say that you look at this situation and depending on how healthy he is and that's the thing that we don't know right now we know he's able to play uh but can he be healthy enough to actually be able to get separation like he used to uh and be able to sit down in zones and be effective that way so does he walk in and be and is the fourth best Wier receiver on this on this roster uh skill-wise he was better than Justin Justin Watson and there's no real comparison there so uh if he can step in and be that fourth wide receiver then you're in a situation where even when he's on the field he doesn't have to be the first or second target he could still be the third or fourth Target and he's going to go up against lesser competition and that is a win for this organization because that gives you somebody that you think can go in there and take advantage of those guys that aren't going to be strong he's going to be going up against on a regular basis yeah I have to agree with you um it also has implications on down the line so what happens to the wide receiver room with JuJu's arrival what's coming up next you've heard us talk a lot about FanDuel America's number one sports book now they have a chance for you to do exactly what I do every single week they have something a little bit different for you right now now through September mber 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet just $5 and get a 3-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube and YouTube TV then with a YouTube base plan account all you got to do is watch every single regular season Sunday afternoon out of Market game no problem all you need is a Google account and a current form of payment and you can cancel at any time visit fanduel.com lockon to download America's number one sports that's fanduel.com lockon make sure that if you need your fantasy uh football fix in order to get your drafts ready that you check out V iron the fantasy football locked on show because it will help you I just got one done yesterday that actually was really insightful thanks spinning for that one check that out at locked on fantasy football fantasy's one thing I don't know the impact ju Smith Schuster is going to have I don't know that you're drafting him in anything more than you know a six Flex fantasy league that's fine but what does he do to the room and I think we've gone back and forth much like we did last offseason JuJu's first first season away and we're looking at having to keep seven wide receivers to get a fully functional six or maybe five at this point I think niiko Romo was destined for the practice squad he has not been released yet I do expect that but in my mind like you said said is he arguably the fourth wide receiver I still think I'd put him at five behind Watson but this tells me that on the field you have enough wide receivers with experience to give Mahomes what he needs no matter the situation or when Hollywood is able to return I think this seals it that it's micole Hardman and Tony are out and it's gonna be skymore that is the last wide receiver onto this 53 now and they only keep six do you see it differently I could see that and I think that's the big question is are they going to keep six or they going to keep seven and you look at Kadarius Tony I think that he was gone regardless and now it's a question of who else are you going to keep to me this move means something like okay is it possible that they will only keep six because now they have another guy that they think can step in and maybe take some of the pressure off of a guy like worthy and a guy like rice in games one and two while Brown is out uh so it's possible that they're looking at this is you know not necessarily you know obviously it's not a one for one replacement for Hollywood Brown you're not going to find that this time of year but it could be something that's leads them to be able to replace him to an extent uh and give some of the other guys help for the first couple of weeks and you talk about micole Hardman we've talked about this multiple times when they signed him to a deal they signed him to a deal with no money guaranteed a league minimum deal nobody else wanted to sign him to me that screams that he could be activated on could be on the practice squad and he could be activated for the first two or three weeks while Brown is out and help uh in that regard as well so to me that makes a lot of sense uh and it makes even more sense to keep only six at that point because because then you're in a situation where if you're bringing H Hardman up on the first couple of weeks you can allow him to do the special teams things that you need him to do and then you can figure it out from there uh and I agree I think skymore is probably going to be on this roster the sixth unless something happens and they trade him away for something which I don't foresee right now yeah I I have to agree with that so then becomes Target share what happens with with Hollywood's injury I think right now just having so little time um even if Juju is able to practice consistently all the way up till week one I still think Justin Watson get snaps ahead of him probably the three in this this offense right now okay so we're we're in sync on that one the question becomes is how does it shift your offense obviously having another guy with Xavier worthy that could take the top off if you had Hollywood bringing that down to a guy that I think is probably more an underneath only option at this point and JuJu misser shortens your offense overall how can they compensate for that well I mean it shortens your offense to an extent you could use Rashid rice in in the Deep game like they did late last year uh he's not going to be as good as Hollywood Brown obviously and he's not Xavier worthy we know that but that is something that they could try to use and try to use to uh really make teams be honest when it comes to playing later in the year showing if he can do that and be successful at it then you add Brown back and you've got three guys that could be going deep and and taking the top off the defense to an extent obviously rice doesn't have the same speed so it's a little different but it could be very effective uh you know you look at this and and it's going to be curious I mean you head into week one last year you headed into week one with a much different receiving core without Travis Kelce this year you're going to have Travis Kelce headed into week one you assume so it's still going to change your game plan as to what you're going to be able to do and how you're going to be able to do it uh and I think that Kelce is still going to be the number one threat this season for the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes but the ability to throw in a guy like Juju Smith Shuster to be able to try to convert some on third downs and help with the middle of the field and the shorter stuff is going to help this offense as well because it's somebody that he trusts uh and he's going to you know Mahomes is going to take advantage of DBS that aren't ready to face off against Juju and JuJu is going to do what he did best uh in 2022 which just sit in zones and find the the weak part and sit there and and get receptions and get first downs that's exactly what you need all you don't need him to be a guy that's going to get six or 700 yards you need him to be a guy that's going to move the chains on a regular basis uh because that keeps drives going and that's going to be the way you score more points yep first down machine that's that's his job at this point uh and I'm perfectly comfortable with that as long as safeties don't learn to bite on it too early you know I do think he's going to get some of the better matchups in terms of facing some of the strong safeties that I do feel he has a knack for his route running ability against a standard safety I'm still in favor of so I think in terms of completing that role I think he can handle that yeah and I would say that let the safeties bite on it let him come up and try to attack it because the thing that Reed's going to do is he's going to use that the first couple of games and and and when the defense adjusts and tries to take it away he's going to send worthy over the top I mean that that's going to be the reality good luck if you're going to be sending a safety or keeping a guy on on Juju and getting your other guys out of whack uh Worthy is going to take advantage of that that deep part of the field and then when bran gets back it's going to be two guys that can do that uh with very good speed uh and I still think Rashid rice can do that to an extent not not the same extent that the first who can but um I do think that this roster is going to be a lot of fun you look at the wide receivers and and adding a guy like JuJu at this point in time is fantastic for this team and it definitely raises the floor of that room uh because at this point yeah you know if Sky Moore was that guy if he was your fifth wide receiver you feeling is good going having him go in there and being in there on third Downs trying to convert that hasn't been his strength he hasn't shown that he has the ability to do that and he hasn't shown that he has mahomes's trust to be able to do that on a regular basis either yeah this this changes that scenario um and honestly maybe alleviates a little bit of pressure on skymore because I think he's been really good with the new kickoff rules so maybe that's something he can concentrate on work himself into a rhythm into the season and actually be able to be productive later yeah the Chiefs are going to be in a great position I think they led the league in preseason uh returns and uh I do think that that's going to be something they're going to be able to take advantage of and whether it's skymore or somebody else at the return position I that's going to be a lot of fun and I cannot wait to see how it shakes out against the Ravens on Thursday Night Football in a little over a week yeah I'm ready for that as well a couple of guys aren't going to be ready for that some of the waiver Cuts have already come in what did they mean did they let somebody go they shouldn't have and who can make it back to the pr Squad that's next this is where the rubber hits the road and unfortunately some guys aren't going to make it now a lot especially the Chiefs have kind of implemented this here with on their first practice day of the week almost like they did where you cut kind of half down and then you do the other half like they've implemented the same kind of thing whereas some teams I think feel like they're cutting all the way down to 50 or to 69 anyway uh pretty miraculously um the group I'll let you run down the group because you can say them all a whole lot faster than I can um a couple of things stood out to me but who was let go today M uh miles battle Ian book Eco boo Philip Brooks Owen Carney Alex gner I believe Kelvin Joseph Griffin McDow Randon platner who is the Long Snapper they brought in uh Kyle sheet chairus Spivey and Nick Torres uh none of those are really surprising moves other than maybe uh looking a guy like Kelvin Joseph I'm a little surprised at that uh but that's one of those things you know so uh we'll see I will say and I should have mentioned this in the last segment so I apologize but Hollywood Brown was actually at practice he did not practice but he was there that is a good sign for his for his ability to be available for possibly uh you know the regular season yeah absolutely um a couple of reactions to this I agree with you um right now as it stand Kamal Haden uh the rookie who has not played very much or very well uh is still on the roster I had expected Joseph to make it over him so is Keith Taylor who I thought Joseph was neck and neck with for that last spot evidently the Chiefs have made that decision uh go ahead so is Roland Wallace I was just getting to him so there's definitely still a chance I think he should be there I think over the rookie Haden definitely over DJ J Miller uh and honestly over Taylor as well uh but if you're talking about The Fab Four McDuffy uh Watson Williams and nazy right there there there's your top four um it's the five of the six conversation and I do think at this point it should definitely be Roland Wallace and I do think they're probably leaning towards Taylor I would have gone Joseph but do you agree with what they've done to this point I mean the only one that I'm really surprised that is is Joseph so at that point uh you know it is what it is I kind of surprised that they went that direction I would have figured that they would have kept him um but they obviously feel like they needed to go another Direction and we'll see uh and we're we've been talking like they were G to have six uh so we'll see how that ends up yeah uh for UK State fans apologies three your guys were let go today um I was actually happy for one of them eabo was released today he is going to land somewhere he is going to play in this league so this is actually a good thing for him squeezing onto this roster was going to be an uphill battle for him but he served good special teams uh snaps in the last season and I think he can get on the field for some other teams around the league so uh if you're a Cas day fan there are better days ahead for him I think it's a plus yeah and I do think that there's you know a possibility there's going to be some of these guys that come back on the practice squad I'm really curious they have 78 guys on the roster right now which means they have what 25 that they still have to let go uh and we'll see what that ends up meaning I'm still thinking that uh you know I thought that there was probably only going to be six wide receivers and and now with Juju I do think that that's probably even more likely uh the the big one that I'm curious about is is Clyde Edwards a and see I think he practiced today uh so that's going to be something uh when you start looking at at cutdowns and how that's going to work um and just really quick looks like ree zamit did not practice Trey Smith and Irv Smith left early because of heat would not worry about either of those guys it was extremely hot out there so don't think that's going to be an issue going forward it's over 100 in Kansas I'm sure it's close to that in Missouri yeah uh Hey and more power to him they made it all the way till cut down day to have to hit three digits right like usually that's in St Joe for a week so well well done guys um a couple of other things that coming talked about the wide receivers and the corners Ethan Driscoll Lucas Nang and godric are all still on this roster currently that's not gonna last very long the question's going to be for me is wanie Morris Dustin for some kind of pup where is he what did that extra tweak mean in the game the other night um I'm going to be watching that one very carefully and I started to watch about running back Cuts around the league to see who might be available uh so far nothing that has stood out to me and that's perfectly fine we we are a little bit under 24 hours from the deadline so we're going to have to just keep uh an eye on that uh Pro Personnel teams uh departments around the league are working for every team to scout every player that could possibly be released right now some of them will sneak through um I hope that the last cut here is probably gonna be durisol because I'd like to see him get back to the practice squad so uh keep your fingers crossed and uh I don't don't hold your breath but you know yeah I'm curious how that ends up I could have sworn I was trying to look at at X to see if I could find it I could have sworn that Morris was back at practice today so I think that most of the guys were back uh practicing so I do think that he'll be okay um but I I you know it's a big question I mean if he isn't back at practice and and there's Jawan Taylor too don't forget he was injured as well so you have two guys that were dealing with injuries um but I'm pretty sure that Morris was back um or maybe he was the only guy that didn't practice I'm pretty sure Taylor did uh so we'll see how that ends up going over the next couple of days uh obviously at this point there's no injury reports so good luck going out and finding that um but I do think that you are it's going to be intriguing because you have a situation where they have three tackles left that all could make a case for making the roster in some way or another uh even godri to an extent but not near as as big as I think Driscoll in in one or not one um Nang could do so there's there's still a lot of hard moves at this point and you have other teams that are cutting players right now and working on trades and another one uh that's out there that you know they're trying to trade him away is Tim Patrick and Denver I'm not saying that Kansas City should make a move to try to go get Tim Patrick but that's another guy that's that's sitting in the free agent Market um and his his deal would be extremely cheap I just don't see Denver wanting to trade with Kansas City and I don't think the other thing is is I don't think Kansas City really wants to get into a a u uh trying to bid on people right now because the other one is possibly John mey uh maybe that would be something that would be more intriguing than a guy like Tim Patrick but um I I think if they're going to do something like that it's going to be a different position where they actually have more need like defensive end uh but we'll know by this time tomorrow just the rosters certainly will set at this by this time tomorrow oh and one thing we did talk about uh over the past couple of weeks is IR in the new IR changes it was actually announced I Believe by Adam Sher today that the lions are putting one of their players on ir and they did it today which is interesting because I didn't think you could do that until the day of cuts but they're putting them on ir and they're going to be able to bring it back just saying that for future reference if it happens with Kansas City I don't know that that's going to be an issue this year uh but definitely something to watch for the future so thought that was interesting yeah you're absolutely right we will run it down for you tomorrow uh with Matt Derek as we get to the cut down deadline make sure you're with us like sub hit the Bell on YouTube join us on Spotify and over on uh Apple podcast get the audio side as well now if anything breaks in between there's a if there's a trade or a major acquisition we'll break in and give you something extra so make sure that you are subscribed on all the platforms get on that text line at 81635 57 8781 thanks for being with us today all week long we're getting prepared it's a short week next week so watch for your favorite players keep an eye out on the rest of the league we will be doing the same and we